


Because It’s Always Friday The 13th

by Nachtnebel



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, Gen, Horror, I'm Sorry, Murder, Psychological Horror, Repeated disasters, Robbery, Suicide, Thriller, Time Loop, Time Travel, my poor baby, no beta we die like fools, why am i like this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:34:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22961740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nachtnebel/pseuds/Nachtnebel
Summary: It wasn't the first time Michelangelo wondered how April always got her hands on the most mystic – and definitely dangerous – artifacts. Considering this day, his good ‘ol turtle luck AND his occult knowledge, he should’ve expected that incoming horrific, bizarre and life threatening adventure as soon as he layed eyes on this old, suspiciously innocent looking, pocket watch within the mess.But did anyone ever listen to him? No. Because no matter how many times he would warn his family, they wouldn’t take him serious. Or would they?However, what if - even with all the time in the world - it was still too late?
Relationships: Casey Jones/April O'Neil (TMNT)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 32





	1. The Day Before, Thursday the 12th

“It’s really nice of you guys to help me with my inventory.”  
April smiled at her slaves … well, voluntary and unpaid workers, meaning her husband Casey Jones and the Turtles. The only reward that was promised thus far was coffee, tea and cake afterwards. But only Splinter was able to try the sweet bribery until now, in the apartment above the antique shop. For a mutant rat, he wasn’t as old and fragile as he told his sons mostly – except if Donatello complained about his high cholesterol result from his recent blood test. He just couldn’t help his sweet tooth, so he used his mighty dad-power to retreat for now. The few enjoyments of the elders …

“Help is a little underestimated, did your last client rob a museum or what?” Casey complained, because he had to carry most of the boxes inside by himself, due to daylight issues. He had earned himself a rest, panting, sweating and holding a water bottle. “Some of that junk was really heavy.”

“Well, this _junk_ pays for our bills and you guys forbid me to help you.” She answered, stroking the tiny bulb on her belly. Still, she was only in her third month.

“Of course we’re helping you.” Leonardo assured her. April was like a big sister to them and after their crazy marriage about a year ago, it was a huge surprise to hear the news. Casey fainted again and Donatello went full Doctor mode, always checking her pulse, blood pressure and even working on some inventions that would help to make the lair as little bacterial and secure as possible, because April had declared she wanted the Turtles and Splinter to be part of her Baby’s family, whether it would be a boy or a girl. Sensei would practically become a kind of grandpa and their human friends would ask him for parenting advice. He came far often over to the apartment by now. Well, if a single rat with little to no knowledge about raising four mutant children could figure it out, which alone was a huge help to ease the soon-to-be parents worries, this shouldn’t be so hard. Right?  
Especially Casey was nervous about taking responsibility and he had to cut his vigilante missions with Raph short, ever since April had an emotional breakdown because she was afraid something happened to him – which she always was, but hormones made her life a worse roller coaster than period would.

“Thank you. But still, it’s gonna take a while. Apparently this client was a collector of old movie requisites and antiques, so he went on a storage auction in L.A. and now he wants me to figure out which are originals, replicas, have collectable worth and so on.” Ms. Jones sighed, going over her checklist with the items. At least the payment was generous and the deal was that she could keep and sell the antiques in her shop.

As soon as Michelangelo heard the word movies, he was very interested in the boxes’ containments, actually looking up from his phone. Since his discovery of memes and social media, he bothered and pranked his brothers less … only to gather new ideas and inspiration to make it worse. Donnie regretted upgrading the Shell Cells with internet access, but he had the main server, so if Mikey annoyed him too much, he could still block his phone, so the joke was on him. And suddenly, his little brother could be such a nice and helpful assistant if he wanted something.  
However, Mikey started to like this weird client guy and his peculiar taste, because the first thing he saw, as he curiously opened one of the nearest boxes, was the wax-head of Frankenstein’s Monster from a very old version. So this guy was interested in horror stuff from good old classics as well.

“I must say, he’s a man with taste!” Mikey cheered as he found what looked like a chopped of hand with dried fake blood. Also made with wax. He took it out and high-fived it, the lose fingers wobbling around as he used it to wave at his brothers.

“What the shell is wrong with you?” Raph rhetorically wondered. “Did the storage owner had some kind of wax-museum or what?”

“Nobody knows that, Raph. Storage auctions are private.” Donnie answered for him. Of course he knew that.

“It doesn’t matter, we should sort out the Halloween Decoration and separate the Antiques first, so we can finish it quickly.” Leo instructed, especially addressing Mikey who seemed to have more fun playing around with the ‘ _original’_ Mask of Michael Mayers from the first Halloween movie, as he claimed, while putting it on.

“Dude, this is awesome. He even has some really old horror comics and action figures!” The youngest was in full geek mode, opening another carton and discovering new treasures. “Those things also have collectors worth, you know~”

Leo was just about to lecture him about his lack of focus, as April passed him and, with a little effort, kneeled down next to Mikey to pick one of the still original packaged Freddy Krueger action figures.  
“Are you sure? How do you know they’re original?”

“Please, April, I know my franchise. This Ouija Board was handmade, the planchette has real glass, the cross necklace is at least made of real silver … and here is a book about occult science!” Mikey felt like a professional _(well, he had seen Storage Wars)_ but also a little freaked out. Usually finding this amount of crazy and creepy stuff was never a good sign. That former owner really had to be a maniac. And the client too, because he bought all this stuff. But he didn’t want to say anything because Raph would only make fun of him again. He couldn’t help but hate and love paranormal stuff. It was cool in movies, games and to read about it as long as it didn’t happen in real life. The tunnels they had met Sidney and the others still gave him the creeps whenever he thought about them. And that wasn’t even the most abstract thing they had encountered on their adventures.

“So you really do know something about this.” April mused, glinting to her clip-board with the endless list of items. “Then you could help me sort these out?”

“You bet!”

“He just wants to leave us all the dirty work.” Raph grumbled, crossing his arms. Leo and Donnie didn’t say anything, but telling the looks on their faces they agreed.

Long story short, Raph was right. And Mikey truthfully took advantage of that and enjoyed commanding his brothers around of what should be sold, what was worthless and what collectable. April meanwhile tended to her antiques and researched on the laptop the bigger things like furniture while Donnie helped to organize the storage room and – because he didn’t trust Mikey’s judgment – examined if the things were original or replicas.  
At some point Splinter showed up and brought some refreshments. Casey had to return the loaned truck with which he had picked up the boxes before, also getting something to eat from china town because his wife suddenly craved kung pao chicken with rice and chocolate ice cream. They had run out of ice cream yesterday. And pickles. So he might as well went grocery shopping too and get everyone something from everything.

“This is totally geek heaven.” Mikey fanboyed, sitting on the floor, like the pretended innocence in person that he was, with scattered comics and artworks in front of him.  
April and Donnie were busy enough and wouldn’t notice that he took his time with some of the containments to enjoy himself. He probably should feel bad about letting Leo and Raph do all the carrying, cleaning and packing but … only a tiny bit. All in all he loved helping out this way.

Beside the antique furniture like lamps, jewelry caskets, requisites and collectors editions there was also a bunch of normal things like clothes, accessories, cutlery – but everything was fancy nonetheless. Silver cutlery, suits from old and expensive brands, that guy was a peculiar, rich old man. But then again, why was all of this in a storeroom? Something about it was off. And Mikey couldn’t get rid of the uneasiness as he thought about it. He would ask April, but Donnie said to not upset her or make her worry for nothing. And even if this was suspicious, they wouldn’t take him serious either.  
Shaking his head, Mikey blamed it on his imagination and too much media influence or … whatever. Moreover, he wasn’t ditching work! SO that was something.  
Splinter was currently watching Gilmore Girls above them while they worked their shells off, Casey got to drive around and Donnie was also just doing his nerd-thing. It was so not fair of Raph to only be mad at him! And he was super focused, Leo just couldn’t understand that.

As he roamed over the articles in another box, it turned out that mysterious owner had also collected newspapers. Very old ones, but still in shape. Some of them were over sixty years old, writing about the Second World War and so on. Man, this guy was nuts. Nobody had so many original old and various collectables. Like, was there anything he hadn’t kept? Sure the movie requisites was what that other man wanted, but the owner was even crazier. Or had been … who knew?

Mikey was about to lift the box and bring it to April, because she might want to see this and he had no idea about old newspapers and their worth, but something in it clattered around as he moved it. It wasn’t that heavy, but there was something else, so of course curious little Mikey took the boring papers out and discovered something that looked really out of place. Compared to all the old items, this one looked very … futuristic? What even was this?

It was just big enough to fill his palm and had a big gearwheel attached on the front. It seemed like he could twist it. Two buttons, a small and a larger one at the upper edge were a metallic chain dangled.  
Carefully, Mikey tried to turn the gearwheel and a tiny click told him he opened something. The cover became lose and revealed something like a clock … okay, yeah this was a kind of … pocket watch? In his opinion a weird steampunk design. Plus, it didn’t even seem to work, stopped exactly 1 Minute after twelve. But if it was there, apart from everything else, it had to mean that it was either a blind passenger or something special. Maybe it had personal, memorial worth to the owner? Or it was some very special collectable? Or just some fashion thing, because it looked completely different from all the other occult and horrific objects, it was almost boring, like a cheap merchandise product. Should he also ask April about it?

“I’m back!” Casey announced his return and literally dropped in with multiple bags. Mikey had been so lost in his thoughts he had to muffle his yelp. The instant smell of food, however, not only calmed him down but also washed his doubts away and he decided to put it in the box with the comics he wanted to read – err, show April to decide if she wants to sell them or not, of course.

“At this rate I think we skip patrol for tonight, this is taking longer than expected.” Leonardo told his brothers, breaking his chopsticks apart and digging in his noodle box.

“It wouldn’t take this long if it weren’t only the two of us lifting everything.” Raph stated, but corrected himself as he noticed Casey’s glare. That poor guy had to deal with the hardest work out of them, so the hothead mainly focused on his two younger siblings.

“I actually contribute more than just muscles.” Donnie began to count all the projects and ideas he still wanted to focus on afterwards. Plus, he was also kind of April’s midwife. So, just like Splinter, he visited the apartment many times, helping wherever he could. “Or, to be frank, at least I do something useful, compared to _others_.”

“Pardon me, I’ve seen enough Shows to know something about this.” Mikey defended himself, but given the looks of his brothers, they didn’t buy it.

“All I’ve seen you doing every time I walked by was you reading comics and playing with toys.” Raph grunted. Before his brother could complain, he pulled out his phone to look at the time and cursed under his breath. “Shit, now we’re gonna miss the match.”

Casey nearly choked on his food “Wait, it already started? Aw, common!”

“We can’t help it. Besides, I’m sure they’re gonna show a rerun.” April tried to cheer him up, but he said that would kill all the fun because of the spoilers you couldn’t avoid until then. She felt a little bad for consuming so much of the boys’ time and tried to think of a way to make up for it. Unfortunately, it had to wait until she had this deal finished. But with the generous payment there was no doubt she could return the favor to her husband and friends in some way.

The sun was long gone when they finished the last box. By now, the furniture was neatly put in the shop, the collectables stored in the wareroom behind, ready to be picked up by the customer and the worthless oddments were put back in some of the leftover boxes. Casey would bring them to the dumpster or either sell them to a comic book store. Whatever would help him to get rid of all this.  
At least they got to eat some of the cake and take a short break before they would go back home. It hadn’t been that hard, the Turtles were used to worse, but the annoying thing was just the whole sorting out every single item, googling it’s worth, making sure it was not fake, what exactly it was and all of that consumed so much time. April had to promise to never, **ever** , go to such a storage auction, because HOLY FUCK.

“Thank you again for all the help and effort. I wouldn’t know what to do without you guys.” April thanked her friends again, as they were ready to take their leave trough the fire escape. Well, it had only took them about five to six hours for all this, but who’s counting here, right? “Oh, by the way I got something for you, Mikey!”  
He hadn’t expected something, but his excitement dulled down as he saw her returning with one of the boxes. Was that karma for his ditching?  
  
“I could give them away, but since you like them so much, you can keep these.” April started her reward-tour with the easiest target. She’d come up with something for the others soon too, but at least she could make one of them happy now. And maybe it was also her maternal instincts that kicked in and warmed her heart when she saw the bright smile on his face.

“Dude, really? Thanks April!” Mikey almost didn’t dare to cheer that loud, because now he really felt bad he slacked off so much. But at least he was allowed to read all these comics for real this time.

“He does **_so_** not deserve this.” Raph rolled his eyes, the others just shrugging. Splinter bid his farewell again and thanked for the meal and they FINALLY left. Who knew running a shop was so strenuous? Especially with such peculiar customers and clients.

The rest of the night was very quiet. Their father went to his room to meditate, Leo made himself tea and decided to read a book in the living room while Raph called dibs on the remote to watch whatever was running right now and Donnie immediately made his way to the lab.

With everyone doing their own thing, Mikey went to his room with his new treasures. The clock showed it was about 10 p.m. so maybe he shouldn’t overdue it because tomorrow’s training. Or was it? Yeah, today was Thursday the 12th October. Wait that meant tomorrow was a Friday the 13th! Cool, this just called for a B-horror movie marathon with lots of snacks. He bet they already showed some on TV after midnight, but he’d regret watching it because he would only get nightmares or probably regret the lack of sleep during training.  
“I still have no idea how Donnie deals with this on a constant basis.” He mumbled to himself while scattering the comics on the floor. That’s when he found the pocket watch he had put in earlier.  
Right, he totally forgot about it. Hadn’t April seen it when she got the box? Or did she think it was also some useless merchandise? He could still call her or show it to Donnie, but he doubted any of them wanted to be bothered now, so he decided to wait until tomorrow … or maybe forget about it, it was just some stupid merchandise or accessory. And it was broken.

Since the watch was still very dubious to him, he only focused on his horror comics for now. They were ... pretty detailed. He wondered why he even took them with him. Maybe because it was cool, maybe because it reminded him of something, maybe because he was just too curious and even if his gut feeling about something wasn’t really peachy, he was just too incorrigible to learn from it.  
Yet, he was just sitting on the floor, reading and wondering why he had never seen a movie version of these illustrations. Some of them were pretty cool! And definitely not nightmare indulging or whatsoever … nope, he would sleep like a baby tonight. It was something totally different than watching a horror movie. Or that’s what he told himself.

After a quick look on his phone, he noticed it was shortly after midnight and he went straight to bed, not caring to clean up first. Nobody entered his room anyway, as long as they had no reason to. But he did pick up the watch, because knowing himself and how even more clumsy he was early in the morning and sleep deprivaded, he would accidently stomp on it, maybe even trip and break something. Yeah he had certainly reached this point before sleeping, where his mind was running a mile per minute. Would he even get any sleep tonight at all?

Yawning, Mikey launched himself on his bed, lazily pulling his bandana from his head and throwing it on his nightstand. He had forgotten to turn off his lamp, but he was too lazy to properly sit up again and just stretched his upper body far enough to reach the switch with his finger.  
In the process, he perhaps forced too much of his weight on his other hand that both held his body upright and the watch tight and secure in his palm. He didn’t crushed it with his plastron, but he did hear a tiny crack or clicking sound and cursed under his breath, just as he had turned the light off.  
But like the genius he was, he instead grabbed his Shell Cell and activated the flashlight to investigate the possible damage. He was sitting up in his bed now anyway.

“Great, Friday the 13th has barely started and I’m already challenging my luck”, he mumbled to himself and opened the cover.  
The glass that covered the fancy letters had a tiny scratch, barely noticeable. The strange thing was that he heard a sound from it. Holding it closer to his head, he both heard the sound of a ticking clock and saw that the second hand actually moved. Strange. Did he repair it or something? Like kicking a vending machine if your snack got stuck or smacking an old TV or radio and the static disappeared? So much to ‘violence was never the answer’.

Shrugging, Mikey put both his cellphone and the weird pocket watch aside on his nightstand and laid back down, staring into the darkness. But for some reason he found himself still unable to sleep, despite the tiredness that started to burn his eyes. He had a strange feeling in his stomach and soon noticed that he cowered and shuddered with goosebumps. He figured it might be because of the horror illustrations that somehow still crept in the back of his mind, but his eyes wandered unconsciously to the shadows of his nightstand, the lamp and the other items that covered.

Eventually, his mind drifted away as his eyes grew heavier with each blink and he hoped the stuff in his head wasn’t enough to cause him nightmares.

_… Oh, how wrong he was. So, so wrong._

_If only he had known back then how foolish he had been and that soon he’d wish to go back in time and undo this day …_

_The day before Friday the 13 th_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is basically my poor attempt to write a thriller/horror fanfic with my favorite bean that I apparently just love to put in distress ... Meh >.<  
> This idea popped in my head while I watched Storage Wars and just wouldn't get out of my head, so I figured I might as well try it. Yeah I know that's weird.  
> I'm sorry if my descriptions lack a kind of depth. I'm already not really good at writing nerdy, scientiffic stuff in my language but doing so in english is even harder and I apologize in advance x.x  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I try to keep my style somewhat balanced between sarcasm/humor and thriller ... -ish? Well, we'll see about that if it comes to this. For people that really want to read horror specifically, it might be boring the first two chapters :D
> 
> As always, feedback is very welcome and have a nice day! :3


	2. The first 13th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey seems to have called dibs on all the bad luck that was available for today. But how bad could this day possibly get?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, of course I would use this opportunity today :D  
> Omg, this chapter took forever. And it's probably gonna be the longest, since I tried to include as much details about the first/original Friday as possible. It might still be confusing with the time leaps, but don't worry, the gaps will be filled in ongoing chapters :3 
> 
> It's my very first time to write something that dark, I hope I was able to make the horror setting as convincing as possible^^°  
> Feedback is always welcome!
> 
> And well, since I think it fits Mikey and this genre pretty well, I recommend listening to this to set the mood ;)  
> [Jimmy Durante: Smile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDK6X0Nxa8M)

“Hey, dumbnut! Wake up! It’s your turn to make breakfast!”

Raphael’s angel-like voice woke Mikey up from his uncomfortable slumber … a little too hard and fast. For a moment, he only looked around to remember what year or day it was and after that sudden yelp, with which he rose from his graceful and obviously not soring position, he soon stumbled on his feet, rubbing his eyes and stretching. A loud crack. Yeah, he already regretted his late night reading.

But surprisingly, even though he had overslept, he couldn’t recall any bad dream or anything. But he shrugged it off and grabbed his bandana, still half asleep and seriously considering to somehow ditch out of his responsibilities for today for real, compared to yesterday that was only a lucky coincidence. But wait, did he really not hear his alarm? Usually, his Shell Cell had an alert for 7:00 a.m. but checking his phone it turned out he forgot to charge it and it was dead. That explained it.

“Well, that sounds like extra exercise.” Sighing, Mikey plucked his phone in the charger and laid it on his nightstand, where he noticed, once again, the pocket watch he had completely forgotten about until now. And now he also remembered that he somewhat broke or … unbroken it. For unknown reasons, a chill went down his spine when he reached for it and opened the cover. Because now, the clock had somehow started to work again and it showed 7:38 a.m.

“Shit, I’m screwed.” He hissed, tying his belt and shoving the thing in his phone holster out of hurry. It barely fitted, but he paid no mind to such details as he rushed to the kitchen. Usually Leo would wake him up as soon as he was two minutes late or something, but he figured that was payback for yesterday maybe.

Arriving at the kitchen he wished he had done something different yesterday, maybe not take advantage too much, because he saw Raph eating his cereal and Donnie drinking coffee while the spare seats were empty. Splinter was usually the last to arrive and the first one to leave the table, sometimes Leo made himself something because training with an empty stomach wasn’t healthy and didn't show up at all. Well, he didn’t pay attention to all the lessons and lectures. Most of all he didn’t get why his father insisted on chores like making food if everyone eventually made himself something anyway – not to forget Mikey was the only one of them to actually try to make some real meals, ever since he discovered those shows on TV. Especially the ones with Gordon Ramsey. Even the prankster himself always felt the need to clean the kitchen after watching it and that meant something.

“Oh, look who we have here. Thought you might ditch work again.” Raph grumbled, not even looking up from his bowl.

“Dude, you’re just grumpy because you missed the match. I actually did a lot yesterday!” Mikey claimed, dramatically offended. He avoided staying in arms reach of his brother on his way to the counter, though.

“We could’ve been much faster if ya didn’t leave the hard work to just me 'n fearless!”

“Hey, Donnie was there too, don’t blame me for all of this!” It may have been a mistake to drag the brother who was mostly on his good side into this, but Mikey was also in a not so cheerful mood. God, he couldn’t wait to sleep in tomorrow. Saturday was also training, but at least not so early or long. It was just more relaxed because Splinter left the training on weekends more and more to Leonardo.

“In my defense, I didn’t ditch on purpose, I worked my shell off the last few days in my lab already and I’m also not the one that overslept on top of being lazy all day.” Donnie spoke between the last sips of his coffee. “By the way, Splinter and Leo are already in the dojo, preparing a special lesson for today. So you don’t have to bother overworking yourself, _Michelangelo_.”

“Geez, no need to be so cold. You guys act like I ruined someone’s funeral.”

“Well, your behavior hasn’t been the best lately.”

“You mean he acts like a nuisance with his stupid pranks and catchphrases and memes. Aside from being an idiot in general!” Raph recalled while looking at his bowl. “Like when I grabbed milk from the fridge and it exploded and splashed all over the place and you yelled: ‘ _Oh, apparently someone does NOT need some milk’_ ”

Mikey thought it was best for his health to hold that laugh in that stretched his lips on opposite directions right now. He had paid for that very much, the bruise was still visible on his upper arm. Yeah, he should lay low for a while.  
No one of them seemed to be up for more conversation, especially with him. Since Donnie left to work on his projects again until training started at 8, Raph glared at him and walked over to the TV, switching through channels. If there was no rerun, he at least wanted to know what he missed. That left Mikey to prep a sandwich, while he grabbed in his belt to reach for his phone only to be reminded, that he didn’t have it. Instead, it was just the pocket watch.

Shrugging, he looked at the time, put it back in and kept eating in peace … and all alone. The downside on all the fun in pranking was always the bad and tense mood afterwards. Why did no one understand that pranks are fun? He never intended to harm anyone. He couldn’t remember ever doing something seriously bad … on purpose. What was so wrong with lighting up the boring life in their dark home? Bad enough they dealt with a lot of Purple Dragon activity lately. There had been a series of robberies and drug dealings. They had busted some of those, but it never seemed to stop.  
Maybe it was just a bad idea to try to ease the mood when there was already so much stress and bad things going on right now. But that wasn’t his only worry.

The morning warm up was … exhausting, to say the least. Not because Mikey was too sleepy and lazy, but because Raph had been his sparring partner and he wanted to repay him. Splinter had to call him out on it twice, but something told Mikey his dad was also pretty fed up with his shenanigans, judging by the stern look on his warm-fur-whisker-face. Yep, Mikey preferred his sensei’s smile more than his harsh tone. But he was realistic enough to know he hadn’t earned it at the moment. He couldn’t wait for this to be over soon.

That so called special training, however, was interesting. It was basically just some parkour-fight with the whole lair to use. They had to be fast, stealthy and it was something like the game ‘the floor is lava’ because nobody was allowed to touch the ground. Usually that was SO Mikey’s element, because he not only loved games and challenges but also the fact that he could win something. Or more like not be assigned an extra chore, which they got threatened with by their master. He was sure his brothers had secretly agreed to kick him out of the contest first, but he wasn’t going to give them an easy time.

It was nothing too hard, really. All he had to do was not be knocked off by anyone for ten minutes. But well, who knew his brothers always perfectly got along when they worked together just for the sake of revenge against him?

“Donnie, I’m sorry for what I said earlier, please!” He cried, avoiding a swing of his brother’s Bo-staff, doing a couple of backflips on the railing. If he had known about this special training, he would’ve planned beforehand. Now that he thought about it, it would’ve been so nuts to climb on the ceiling and just drop on the sofa or something if they followed him. There were so many possibilities! And now he had no time to try them out, let even think about them!

“Sorry Mikey, but this is no team exercise.” the genius stated, using his own weapon to swing from one furniture to the other. Leo was not participating, only explaining them the rules and if no one dropped out after ten minutes, he would help out – which was really unfair by the way, because he was allowed to touch the floor … Why did he never have to do the loser-chores? Sure, he trained harder and longer than them but still – ugh, what was even the point?

“And I just like seeing ya do something productive fer once! And I ain’t gonna miss the match this time!” Raph yelled, suddenly coming from behind and swinging his sai at him, which he barely avoided.

“See? So they DO show a rerun! Wait, guys, this is not fair! I – ouch, come on! That’s cheating – uaaah!” Mikey kept himself from falling just in time by grabbing Donnie’s Bo intead of blocking it. It wasn’t a long fall, but he would hate kissing the floor this way.  
At this moment, time seemed to stand still as they both locked eyes, Mikey sending his smart brother the most pleading and cutest puppy eyes the world had never seen while Donnie progressed the situation, analyzing and weighing his chances. The orange clad Turtle hoped Donnie would listen to his soft and forgiving side, but no. He was confronted with utter, merciless betrayal: He simply let go of his Bo, letting Mikey fall down the floor flat on his carapace and landing with a loud thud. It must’ve looked hilarious, because Raph was laughing at him, saying something like he really wished to see that in slow motion again.

It turned out, without your weapon, fighting against a Raph in a good mood – which was just as scary as his bad mood – there was no chance to last long against him, so Donnie soon joined Mikey on the ground.

“I hope you’re happy and it was worth it, _Donatello_.” Mikey teased him, arms crossed and yet not really able to be happy about it. After all, he lost, so even Donnie’s minor miscalculation couldn’t cheer him up. For some reason he was really bummed today. Not just because it was Friday the 13th or his day started like this, that happened from time to time. He had this feeling of uneasiness and restlessness in his chest that wouldn’t go away ever since he opened his eyes and couldn’t shake off.

“Michelangelo, I want you to clean the dojo and weapons after training.” The wise rat tasked him later.

“Aw man, every single one of them?” He had started but kept further complains to himself when he heard the sound of his sensei’s cane hitting the ground. Okay, he got it, this day was already ruined and it was no one’s fault but his own. Because how **dare** he having fun in his life! … Also, it was really unfair, because he had no chance against two of his brothers.

“Welp, seems like no one’s gonna hog the TV anyway, so I’ma just go.” Raph declared with a shit eating grin, patting Mikey’s back as he passed him. At least he wasn’t pissed anymore, so … that was a win. Probably.

Polishing and dusting off the weapons took forever. But in fact it was only 11:15 when he looked on his watch. Now he could at least go take a shower and get his phone out of his room. He passed Raph and Donnie sitting on the sofa, both with towels around their necks, one watching his stupid sports game, the other reading newspaper like an old geezer.

He stopped when Donnie called after him. “If you’re heading for the bathroom, Leo’s showering right now.”

He didn’t retort anything, just sighed annoyed and headed straight for his room instead, once again launching himself face front on his bed to pout and figure out why he felt like shit today. Oh right, because nothing worked right this time. Mikey wondered if it was also his turn to make lunch too, but he figured no and just decided to take a nap instead. Gaining back some of his sleep and the world would look much better, his bad luck would be forgotten and he only had to survive patrol tonight before he could watch a few horror movies or so.

With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes and soon felt furry paws walking on his carapace. Klunk always knew when his cat-dad needed comfort and therefore chilled out on top of him, also dozing off like he had learned from his owner. At least one loyal member in this family that wasn’t upset with him. Well, as long as he fed him. But he could worry about that later … much later …

**_Tik ..._ **

_Loud sirens._

**_... Tok_ **

_Blood._

**_Tik ..._ **

_Pain._

**_... Tok_ **

_Throbbing headache._

_Everything was blurry and dark. Multiple voices echoed from the distance, making his head hurt even more. A lout ringing in his mind made it hard to focus or make out what was going on, what they were saying._

_So rushed, everything flew by like a highway._

_**Tik** ..._

_“Mi#ey! Mi-##! You nee# to #### away##!”_

_“#ikey!”_

_“… Mikey!”_

**_Tok._ **

“MIKEY!”

Suddenly, the called Turtle was wide awake in his bed, Klunk rolling off his shell in the process and meowing with protest. He wondered why his heart was beating so fast, his breath hitched like he had been running for his life. So much for a relaxing nap. He felt more haunted than before and couldn’t even recall who just called for him. Or did he imagine that?

“Get yer shell out of there, food’s here!”

Apparently it was Raph’s angelic voice. Again. Michelangelo sighed, rubbing his eyes and making sure Klunk was alright. Speaking of food, if his cat could, it would probably tell him to give him something as well … wait, what did Raph mean with that?

“What’d I miss?” he sluggishly leaned against his doorframe, Klunk cooped up in his arms, partly expecting his hotheaded brother to be already gone. Yet, he still stood there, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Well, if you wouldn’t have slept through everything **again** , although it was your turn to cook today, you would’ve heard April calling earlier. They got us pizza, lucky you.” Raph told him, quieter than before.

Yay, lucky him. As if.  
Mikey wasn’t as happy about it as he thought he would be. Today he was just so tired and this morning didn’t make it any better. It was indeed a shitty day, still he was surprised to hear himself say “Oh … uhm, great.”

“Great? Since when is pizza _just_ great?” Raph looked almost concerned and even touched his little brother’s forehead to see if he was running a fever. Mikey shrugged it off, forcing a grin.

“T’was just a joke, come on dude.” Still feeling the stare of his brother from behind, Mikey tried to suppress the negativity that clung to his soul and play it off by humming some nameless melody while going down. He should’ve showered but … ugh, why bother? They lived in the sewers and he could still go after patrol. He hated being like this, feeling all depressed and shitty.

“So I figured, to repay you guys for yesterday, we bought some groceries along and –“

Mikey felt almost sorry for zooning out so much. He barely listened to the conversation and had forced himself to eat two slices, staring at the third in his hand like it was poisoned, because eating just made the bad feeling in his stomach worse, so he watched Klunk eat from his bowl next to him on the ground, to distract himself.

“Come on, ya can stop pouting now.” Raph sat right next to him. What was his deal? First he’s mad, then he’s gloating because of that stupid karma and now he was in full big brother mode. Michelangelo would’ve liked to avoid all three versions right now. “The TV’s yours now, ya can watch yer stupid movies or whatever.”

“What about the match?”

“Doesn’t matter, they lost anyway.”

Mikey took that as an opportunity to leave and – just to get rid of the stares – took the pizza box with him to the television. He heard April asking him if everything was alright.

“I’m fine, just good ol’ Friday the 13th“ Was his poor excuse. Sitting in front of the television, he zapped through the channels. For some reason, he stopped at the news … or one of them, because every channel was full of them right now, showing live footage.

_“- Now in front of the company, where a few minutes ago an emergency call from one of the employees was cut off by one of the criminals. They took hostages and – Oh my god, people are running out of the building, the police has no clear-“_ A sudden loud explosion and crushing interrupted the reporter in front of the camera.  
By now, Mikey had turned up the volume. “Guys, you need to see this!”

Everyone gathered around. The reporter looked shocked and barely formed a straight sentence.  
_“Oh my god, the entrance hall just exploded – people are trapped – no sign of the culprits, the police and the paramedics are –“_

“I know that place, it’s not far from our shop. Oh god, I hope the people are alright.” April couldn’t stand still, holding her belly, exhaling loudly.

“Easy babe, they won’t get away with this.” Casey put an arm around her shoulders. This couldn’t be the Purple Dragons. Or were they? As if he wasn’t already nervous enough with the fact that he would become a father, he had to protect not only his wife, but also his future kid! He couldn’t decide whether he should start a riot and go find these fuckers or play the loyal guard dog and make sure April wouldn’t make herself crazy with all the hormones and shit.

Leo looked to his father, who hummed thoughtfully, stroking his beard.  
“Maybe we should cancel patrol for today.” The fearless leader suggested.

“Ya gotta be kidding me Leo! Whoever did this, we can’t just sit here and do nothin’ about it!” Raph interjected, obviously not pleased.

“With all the attention it’s impossible to do anything, Raph! The police and citizens are all over the place. It’s a mess out there.”

Mikey only half listened to the argument. Focusing war quite hard somehow. Raph knew it was too risky to go out this night without being seen and Leo was also upset he was forced to sit here and watch, but both would defend their point until Splinter eventually intervened, like it always went.  
Surprisingly, it was April who cut off the conversation by leaning heavily against the sofa, claiming she felt a little dizzy.

“Perhaps it would be better if both of you stayed here for the night.” Splinter offered the humans.

“No it’s … it’s okay, I’m fine.” April claimed, refusing to let this drag her down. With everything she had faced after all this time, an act of terror wouldn’t stop her. At least that’s what she said to herself.

“April …” Donnie was just about to rant another essay about how stress affected pregnancy, but she interrupted him.

“If you’re worried, you could give us a ride home and check me over. I’m sorry, I just …” She didn't want to hide while her neighbors couldn’t and her shop, her home, was left unsafe. But saying it would only cause her friends to feel even worse, so she just figured playing the stoic preggy woman was the best option, while hoping no one she knew was harmed by that explosion … or worse.

Needless to say, it did take quite some persuasion, but they eventually agreed that as soon as the sun would set, they would drive them home with the van. Raph was the driver, Donnie would check on April, bringing his famous trustworthy bag along, while Leo wanted to observe the area from the apartment – since that would ease his mind and appease Raph and Casey along, who had to promise April to stay at home at least for tonight and leave it to the Turtles … meanwhile, Mikey just tagged along.  
With all the chaos, his mood was forgotten for now, which he was glad for, because he hated justifying why he was unhappy. Was is so hard to believe he could have a bad day too? Yeah, some of that stuff was his fault, but come on, everything just screamed Friday the 13th today, it was insane dude!

He sighed, leaning against the window and grabbing for his Shell Cell, only to discover he forgot to replace this stupid pocket watch. Something told him, this thing was also part of his bad luck. Well, at least he knew it was around 6 p.m. which meant for this season it was already pretty dark outside. Ugh, and he was still tired. Was he really running a fever or something? Weird.

He followed his brothers up the fire escape, while April and Casey took the regular entrance after they had a small chat with the elderly woman that lived next door. Apparently her nephew had worked at that place and she was really panicked, so it took a while to calm her down. Leo took that as an advantage to go all the way to the roof, so he could have a better view.  
While Donnie was in the apartment, they observed the mess that was still going on a few streets across. While his big brother Leo clearly had the sharpest sight, always memorizing every detail in a short amount of time, Mikey always preferred the bigger picture or minor details that no one really paid attention to. So of course, he watched the night sky with its dark clouds, suppressed the shiver from the cold wind up here and observed the construction zone with that empty half-finished building not far from where the explosion had been.

By now everyone seemed to be evacuated and the whole area was shut off, police cars and officers roaming around. But Mikey didn’t really care about that, his gaze took in the destroyed entrance, his mind trying to imagine how this happened. Did they even say how the explosion happened? Or who did this in the first place? He had watched the news for a long time while the other planned a strategy for various occasions for a usually ridiculous short ride but now he could feel a shiver that wasn’t caused by the cold wind.

“April’s condition is stable, the baby is fine.” Was the first thing Donnie said when he joined his brothers. At least one relieving thing today.

“Great, so now we can finally focus on finding these bastards.” Raph rubbed his hands, eager for action. He ignored Leo’s and Donnie’s glares.

“We’re not going down there!” Even if they were skilled stealthy ninjas, it was just too risky.

“So what, ya just wanna go back home?! We can search around the blocks, I bet Don even brought some of his detective stuff with him.”

“Actually, I have, but –“

Internally sighing, Mikey leaned a little back, siting on the edge of the roof while his feet dangled free, kicking the air. His head throbbed, he had no nerve to deal with it. _Badump, badump, badump_ … steady, like the ticking of a clock, dull like a heartbeat. Ugh, it was awful. He should’ve just stayed at home. Fuck, did he even drink anything today? He recalled Donnie saying that headache was also a sign of dehydration … one of the many lectures he heard over the last three months. Mostly they were directed to April, but the little drama queen in him had actually listened every now and then.

Did something down there just move? Concentrating was hard, so Mikey didn’t know if his mind played tricks on him. With all the cops it was possibly nothing suspicious, but he was pretty sure something had moved down there, behind the wall of rubble and boulders. That flashlight could’ve easily been from an officer.

_Badump, badump, badump …_

Or was it not a flashlight? There, again! What was going on down there?

“Uhm … guys, do you see that?” He pointed at the construction zone, where a few shadows lured around the corners, trying to stay unseen while a very weird blue light emitted from them from time to time. It was faint, but still there, hard to see behind piles of pipes and planks.

His brother’s stopped their argument. It took them a few seconds, but eventually they noticed too.

“Are those the culprits or thieves that try to scavenge the leftovers?” Donnie asked out loud.

“Whoever they are, we better make them stop, before they blow up another building. Case is already on edge, it’s even worse with his new developed _‘over protective dad’_ mode.” Raph shot Leo a warning look. Even if it was risky, they couldn’t just leave, not knowing if the area was safe or not, even with the cops around.

Leo thought about it, weighing his options. It was still dangerous with terrorists on the run, but with the police they had only limited ways of movement. If things escalated, both sides could possibly attack them. It was definitely difficult … still, it wasn’t right to just back down now. Damnit, at times like this he hated being in charge. If it was just himself, he would trust his skills to go down there unnoticed, only responsible for his own wellbeing, but with his little brothers, it was different of course.  
“Fine.” He said “But we’ll keep our distance. We move as one, quickly and if I say retreat, we **will** retreat.” He left no room for further argues, briefly explaining his strategy how they would systematically cover the block, preferably from above on the rooftops.

Next time Mikey was able to take a quick look on his watch, it was 10:34 p.m. and by now, all they had achieved so far was avoiding the police and staying hidden in the shadows, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Entering that destroyed company was impossible, so they moved in a pattern around it, circling closer. The only odds they had seen were drug dealers and Purple Dragons who tried to take the ruckus to their advantage and rummage through the empty building next to it, that’s where they had busted them and knocked them out, silently as possible and taking a short break.

Leo was currently debating with Donnie if they should split up, stay together or call it a day. Raph was annoyed but he kept himself busy by sending Casey text messages, keeping him up to date.

If Mikey’s head had been throbbing, it was about to burst by now and he felt like shit. But he didn’t want to say anything. With his bad luck, they would probably get mad, thinking he just wanted to ditch work again or blaming him if they had to leave early … whatever would happen, he was sure it would turn out to make his day even shittier.

_Badump, badump, badump …_

So loud.

“- One of us should stay here. We can still contact each other with our Shell Cells.”

Mikey’s head perked up. His immediate thought was to volunteer, but he hesitated. He could practically hear Raph calling his lazy ass out again. But to his surprise, he was the one who suggested it first. “How’bout Mikey? That way he’s less likely to … you know.”

“Mess up? Yeah, don’t wanna risk that, don’t we?” The prankster couldn’t help his sarcastic tone. Even if he’d agree with his current state, it was still unfair. Then he remembered he had forgotten his Shell Cell at home. Great. Just. Great. Could this day get any worse?!

“Mikey …” Leo gave him that big brother look again. This _‘I know you’re hurt, since you’re sensitive and all, but this is not the time and we don’t mean it that way bla bla’_ kind of look.

He brushed it off. “Nah, it’s true. I’ll just stay here. Have fun.”

They eventually agreed to meet up at the fifth floor and if nothing happened until midnight, they would call it a day.

Little Mikey was just too grumpy to tell his brothers about his missing phone, about feeling sick and that he wasn’t in a mood to stay alerted, like, at all right now. All he wanted was to lay back down and close his eyes. Maybe the Purple Dragons that the cops already arrested were the weird shadows he'd seen earlier.

Thinking was just really hard right now, which was why he had sat down on a steel beam, leaning his hot forehead against the frame and regretting his recent life decisions. He should’ve done so many things different today. If he had only taken his phone with him. If he had only told them the truth. He should’ve went to bed earlier yesterday. He should’ve helped … if only he could re-do everything. But hey, that’s just how life was.

For how long was he sitting here now anyway? He was so busy trying not to doze off, he lost track of time.

**_CLANK_ **

The loud sound of a few pipes falling down on the concrete started a major pain in his head. But not just that caused his adrenalin to shoot through the roof. He suppressed a yelp, hoping it was just a silly prank from Raph or an accident or … whatever, logical or not.

Stumbling back on his feet, Mikey supported himself on the frame. Everything was spinning.

He heard rushed footseps just a floor beneath him. Someone was mumbling to himself in a deep voice. He couldn’t make out what it said, but it was manly. And the steps came closer. Frantically rushing from one side of the building to the other, panting.

**_BANG_ **

Mikey was so focused on trying to make out what the person wanted and to stay hidden, that he almost had a heart attack. Was that a gunshot? Fuck that sounded nearby. And it wasn’t just a single one, there was more shooting. What was going on?!

“Shit they got us!” The voice cursed. It was so near, the shoes colliding with metal as they climbed upwards. Fuck.

There was no way Mikey would be able to fight properly like this. Still, if he had to, he would defend himself. But what if that guy also had –

Another shot. Yeah, that guy definitely also had a gun. And he had missed his head just by a few inches. Dammit, he must’ve climbed from the other side!  
All Mikey could do was avoid another and hide behind a bunch of cement bags, coughing as the dusty clouds blurred his vision even more. The second shot had hit one of the sacks.

Everything just happened so fast right now, Mikey took his nunchakus, ducking another bullet and looking for an opening so he could either dash through and jump down to the fourth floor and get away from here – he couldn’t even call for help for fucks sake – or knock that guy out. He didn’t seem to be that tough, but who knew how many bullets that guy had left. And if he was one of the terrorists, that guy was dangerous!

He figured thinking too much about it would only worsen his situation, so he went with his specialty, jumping and twirling around to avoid any attacks and contact with his enemy. The bad thing was just that he felt like barfing after performing a flick flack and almost losing his balance.

Now that guy was also throwing tools and materials at him, calling him a monster. More voices and shooting in the background pierced like knives in his head as Mikey dodged yet another pipe, ignoring the insults of the panicked man that … was he crying? Hard to tell since that guy was fully dressed in black and wore a mask, but the whimpering gave him away.

Maybe he spent too much effort figuring it out. He didn’t watch his steps and as he was stepping backwards to dodge another assault, he stepped on one of the pipes, causing him to lose his balance and he hit the floor hard, face first. Ouch.

His graceful landing caused all of his air to leave his lungs and standing up again was hard and he moved way too slow for his liking. He had lost orientation. Where was that guy now? Why was everything spinning?

“MIKEY!”

That voice … sounded like Raph, but from far away. He turned around just in time to see that guy aiming his gun at him again, but he was also distracted by his hotheaded brother’s yell. Instead of pointing that thing towards him, that panicked wimp turned to Raph.

Mikey used that to his advantage and threw one of his nunchakus with as much force as he had left at that guy’s head. Hopefully it would knock him out … or at least cause him to fall down. His efforts proved to be not completely useless. The man rubbed the back of his head, tripping.

A blur of green and red came to his view, throwing himself against the guy. Raph grabbed his wrist to prevent him from shooting at him, but that fucker wouldn’t let go. They rolled on the floor and Mikey was so overwhelmed, he could only stare.

_Badump, Badump, Badump …_

All noises became muffled. Unreal even. His vision was blurry. His brain processed everything so slow, his reflex was too slow. He saw Raph hitting another tied pile of pipes, or whatever, with his shell and the containments came off, literally pouring all over these two.

Caught off guard, Raph lost the grip on the masked enemy. After that, Mikey just moved on autopilot, feeling his legs almost gave out as he practically threw himself over that guy, with so much force, they almost fell off the floor, before he could stand up.

He was tossed around, but still clinging to the squirming body, using his single nunchaku to wrap it around the arm that held the gun and pull it behind the guy’s back. He cursed, yelled and wiggled for dear life.

At some point he threw his head back, hitting Mikey’s chin hard. It was just enough for Mikey’s vision to space out again and everything happened so fast and … yet so slow at the same time.

Raph called out for him, sais in his hands.

_Badump, Badump, Badump …_

Another gunshot. His stomach becoming all warm.

_BadumpBadumpBadum –_

A burning pain emitting from his guts, paralyzing his body as he felt himself unable to breath properly.

_BADUMPBADUMPBADUM_

His legs gave out and stumbled aimlessly backwards, the weight of his shell pulling him behind. His foot only hit air at some point.

_Badum_

Suddenly, the sky was so clear and visible in his eyes, but so dark at the same time. Was he floating? No …

_Badum_

He was falling.

Then, everything was dark all of a sudden.

_Ba-_

He never hit the ground. It was all just black as colors drained away like racing cars on a highway. And for some reason, everything he could still hear was that noise.

_-dum_

It turned to a music, ticking like a clock and as he noticed his consciousness fading, he swore he could hear a singing voice. Played backwards on a record. Very old and very… calming

He couldn’t feel his mouth twitching anymore, as it slowly turned into a faint smile, nor the wet traces of tears streaming down his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So thanks to the Corona Virus, my school shut down for the next few weeks and who am I to not take advantage of this super unfair and mean forced holiday :'D Hopefully, my motivation agrees as well.


	3. Nightmare Friday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey was just having a silly nightmare. Everything was okay. He just had to convince himself first, and then everyone else! No biggie ...

With a loud thud, Mikey woke up. Heart racing. Breath hitched. He felt hot tears streaming down his face. Almost on reflex, his hand clamped on his stomach, feeling for anything … unordinary.

But no, he felt nothing, despite hyperventilating and crying like a teenage girl that was about to meet her favorite boygroup off stage in person, that was.

“Meow?”

The questioning sound of Klunk, who curiously watched his owner, pulled Mikey to reality. And he realized, he was laying on the floor next to his bed. Besides the room being all dark, it looked quite normal. His eyes roamed around the room. As if nothing … happened. Wait.

With a new kind of fear filling his thoughts, Mikey pulled himself back up, looking for his phone. He DID find it … but what he didn’t saw, was the pocked watch. A sudden shiver went down his spine and he noticed that he was still wearing both his mask and belt, even if he was absolutely certain that he had taken both off before going to sleep.

With shaky fingers, he groped for the holster meant for the Shell Cell and his heart skipped a beat. The pocket watch was indeed there.  
He almost dropped it as he pulled it out, hand still shaking like leaves, holding it like it was pure poison. The watch behind the cover, with its tiny scratch, showed five minutes after midnight.

Just for good measure and because Mikey was still shaken from this weird … dream, that he couldn’t even fully recall at this moment right now, since he was still on the verge of having a mental breakdown, he turned his phone on too. It showed the exact same time. And the date was …

**Friday the 13 th **

For some reason, Mikey had to swallow, noticing how dry his mouth really was right now. Images flashed before his eyes and for a brief second he thought the ground beneath him disappeared, that he would fall into a pitch black abyss.

A sudden nausea hit him and he had to sit down on his bed, suppressing the need to gag and only now noticing the weird ache in his stomach. This had to be a dream. This MUST have been a dream! It just had to! … Yeah, exactly, it was only a ridiculously realistic dream and he acted like a sissy. He should … he should probably just lay back down and forget about it. Yeah, that’s right. Everything was peachy, just a stupid nightmare and he felt a little sick. Pretty normal. And … and he wasn’t freaking out at all. I-it was Friday the 13th after all. And he was always drawn to clumsiness and bad luck. Yes, that must’ve been it!

Still with a shaky breath, Mikey let himself fall on his pillow again, listening to the soft and content purr Klunk made, probably in a soothing way. Man, this cat knew him so well … and, well, unlike his brothers he didn’t really have anyone he could openly talk to.  
Raph had his best friend Casey, Leo had Splinter, Donnie had April and Leatherhead and he … he didn’t mind sharing his thoughts with any of his bro’s or their human family members and he just loved spending time with Leatherhead … still, it wasn’t the same. He just … had no one that shared his opinions, understood him or would listen to him and take him serious. He had no one he could just be himself, like, all the time. Mikey always felt bad if his family saw him in misery, so he masked it with a false smile. That was the best option. They never openly talked about feelings and insecurities anyway.

“Klunk … do you think it’s normal to dream about … like, dying? I don’t really remember what happened, but it felt so real and I …” He trailed off. The more he tried to recall his memories – no, his dream, made up, full of unrealistic fantasies, shush! – the more he doubted it ever happened. But why did his tears still sting and burn … and wouldn’t stop falling? It was pathetic, how he couldn’t even contain the sniffles. He tried lying to himself, attempting to laugh, but it only sounded more pitying. “Fuck, c-calm down …”

For some reason, Mikey was afraid he could wake up his brothers with just his racing heartbeat. Even if he told himself over and over to go back to sleep and forget it, it wouldn’t work. So instead, he got up again, silently leaving his room to head for the bathroom.

The first thing he did was washing his face and inspecting the dark circles around his bloodshot eyes. He was pale and looked … really sick. Like, the living dead. And this stomach- and headache were still present. So much for sleep. For some reason, the longer he looked at his reflection in the mirror, the worse he felt. He couldn’t stand it, so he left to go back to his room.

He made sure to charge his phone … so it wouldn’t _die_ and he’d miss his alarm. Heh.

The alert went off at 7 a.m. sharp, causing Mikey to groan and stretch in his bed, aching bones cracking in protest. Right, he had to make breakfast. Ugh, he was so tired. He had been awake for what felt like an eternity and when he finally dozed off, he had to get up again. Of course, with his bad luck. This promised to be a fantastic day … not.

Accompanied by Klunk, Mikey slowly prowled down to the kitchen, his drowsy mind doing his best to come up with something. In the end, he decided to just stick with scrambled eggs, toast and whatever. Raph would probably just eat his cereal anyway, Leo would get his tea and something light. Wasn’t he already awake? … Damn, thinking was so hard right now.

Despite his best efforts, he accidently burned the eggs. They were still edible, though it definitely didn’t match his usual skill. But mostly due to his sleep deprivation he didn’t care.

“First ditching work, now ruin the food?” Raph commented, not in the best mood. Mikey could relate, he was maybe just as grumpy as him right now.

“Why do you even care? It’s not like you’re eating what I make anyways.” Mikey mumbled more to himself and dumped the frying pan in the sink to wash it later. He wasn’t even really hungry, still feeling sick like he’d vomit any moment. And he was even more sleep deprived than last … _time_? What kind of déjà-vu was that?  
Taking a sip from his hot cocoa, Mikey had the slight impression to taste metal … like, blood. Choking, Mikey put the cup back on the counter, coughing.  
No, he was just imagining things.

Raph eyed him suspicious but didn’t say anything otherwise. Sure, he had been planning to eat his cereal but now, he wasn’t sure if he should do it even more so out of spite or actually change his mind. Usually the hothead wouldn’t let his baby brother talk to him like that, but something just seemed off with him today. For example, he looked really pale … for a sea green mutant turtle that was.

“Alright, what’s eating ya, dumbnut?” Raph huffed, deciding to at least try the eggs. They had a burned aftertaste, but were edible nonetheless.

“Nothin’ … couldn’t sleep.” Mikey slurred, taking awfully long to clean the pan. It felt so heavy in his still slightly trembling hands.

Raph wasn’t really pleased with this answer, but he was too much of a non-morning person to really care about it right now and generously set the table for the others, even if that was also Mikey’s part … he was too soft with him. And he was still supposed to be angry for yesterday! Right. He totally forgot.

A few minutes later, Donnie joined them, yawning. His first target was the coffee machine of course. While he waited for his cup, he snatched the newspaper from the counter and looked at it. Mikey wondered why he did this. He could just read any news on the internet much faster, the newspaper was probably from last week even.  
Sighing, Mikey made himself a sandwich. He himself wasn’t in the mood for scrambled eggs. Or food in general right now … which reminded him of something.

“Where’s Leo?” Mikey wondered, despite his tiredness he couldn’t stand the silence at the table, feeling the need to talk with his brothers. Hear their voices. Just … anything but silence, so he wouldn’t have to deal with his thoughts. His own head and mind … kind of scared him at the moment. So, like he usually did in such situations, he avoided doing that.

“Probably in the Dojo, he and Splinter talked about a special training session for today that he is in charge of.” Donatello answered incidentally, taking a sip from his beloved drink, no matter how hot it was.

Mikey nodded. The first thing that popped into his head was “ _the floor is lava_ ” for some reason. Why did he associate something like this with training? It was just a game … though it would be cool to actually do something like that for a change. It was fun. And if there was a competition, it would be even better.  
Mikey always put more effort into training if he got something out of it. Call him childish, he just didn’t like repeating katas over and over, that was like studying. Then again, Leo always knew how to get his interest in something or make it more appealing. And he remembered Leo and Splinter used to plan the training sessions together more and more recently. Still, it was weird that Leo didn’t show up at all to eat with them, even if he grabbed something earlier before his solo-training.

When Splinter came out of his room and greeted them, Mikey automatically straightened himself, expecting a stern and strict gaze of disapprove from his father, but he just hummed a song, making himself tea and walked over to the television to watch his soap episode before training would start.

The prankster had no idea why he expected everyone to be in a bad mood, especially because of him. Well, maybe because of … _yesterday_? Was it really only just yesterday? Felt longer than that.

It was still time until training would begin, but Mikey had no idea what he should do with himself, so he decided to look what Leo was up to.  
The doors to the dojo were closed. He hesitated, depending if his oldest brother was busy or not. But then again, his little brother privilege was that he didn’t bother about minor things like that and silently slit the door open without knocking. Classic.

Mikey expected more than … just the empty room with Leo standing in the middle of it. He wasn’t even training, he just stood there with crossed arms, staring at the wall with their weapons.

“… Leo?” He wasn’t that careless to poke a bear with a stick, so he carefully approached his oldest brother. Stirring, the leader turned around, blinking surprised. Okay, if he really hadn’t heard his youngest brother entering, there was something going on with him … Funny how Mikey was worried about that and tried to mask his own troubles so nobody would call him out on them … This issue was definitely running in the family.

“You’re early.” Leonardo noted, his surprised expression becoming the resting poker face again. Yeah, no weakness allowed.

“Well, you didn’t come.” Mikey countered, questioning if his brother had eaten anything at all today. He saw Leo fighting the urge to sigh, but his shoulders sacked just a little bit. “Everything all right?”

Leo looked at him for a while, debating if he should be honest or not. “It’s …” He dismissed his thoughts. “Nothing. But I think I should be asking you that. You don’t look so good.”

Yeah didn’t feel so good either. Heh. But two could play that stubborn game, so instead of alerting Leo’s big brother sensors by saying things like he had a nightmare or that he felt really sick and eating didn’t help his stomach ache, he told the least troubling truth. “Just … didn’t sleep much. S’ all.”

Fearless nodded without saying anything further, still giving him that mother hen look. The silence was really awkward, so Mikey shrugged and excused himself, that he still needed to feed Klunk and would see him later. He was not in the mood for this right now. And if neither wanted to talk about their problems, what was the point?

Somehow Michelangelo managed to pass time until their morning warm up started. He just went through social media on his phone, the creepy pocket watch dismissed on his nightstand. The sickness way bearable by now, but he had to swallow hard when Splinter announced Raph as his training partner. Needless to say, he got his shell whooped. Mikey was so busy pulling himself together he didn’t quite put up a fight for his brother, which set the older one in a far better mood.

However, Splinter noticed the lack of effort his youngest son showed, which earned Mikey a lecture about taking training serious from the warm up to the end. Mikey suppressed his whines and complains.

“So it’s … basically like ‘ _the floor is lava_ ’, right?” He asked his oldest brother who just explained the new training method. That was something Mikey was good at and it sounded so … familiar. He had predicted it at breakfast. Either he was becoming a telepathic genius now or … No. That was ridiculous. He ignored the screaming intuition in the back of his mind.

“I swear, if yer don’t come down there, I’ll make ya!” Raph yelled, aiming one of his sais at the orange clad turtle that currently sat on a pipe, clinging to the wall for dear life. Somehow Mikey had outdone himself by avoiding both Donnie and Raph until he eventually manipulated them to fight each other. All he had to do was dodging the blows and hiding behind the other brother, until Donnie accidently hit Raph’s head with his bo. Those few seconds were enough to climb up.

“Why don’t you come up instead?” He asked mockingly, wiggling his non-existent eyebrows while hoping he wouldn’t do that. Unfortunately he should’ve kept his mouth shut.

It wasn’t Raph to kick him out of the game though. Mikey had managed to run – err, jump – away until the ten minutes were up and Leo threw one of his katanas, it got stuck in the wall right before his face and next thing he knew Leo pulled his leg and he kissed the floor.  
Still, it was just unfair. Cheating even! Leo was allowed to touch the ground and he didn’t even have to participate. And he was also lecturing him now, saying that avoiding a fight was not how a ninja behaved and bla bla bla … at some point, Mikey tuned him out, unknowingly rubbing a certain spot on his plastron where the pain was still present.

Now, he got stuck with the chore of cleaning the dojo and polishing the weapons … why did he see that coming? Ugh …  
Good thing he was prepared, turning his Shell Cell on to play music at a low volume, humming to himself. Anything to keep his thoughts busy.

“Fuck, they lost!” Raph cursed, changing the channel as the re-run ended and right before Mikey left the dojo.

Donnie secretly rolled his eyes, doing a crossword puzzle on the newspaper from earlier. It was boring, but also refreshing to give his mind a break for a change. He had overdone it with his projects lately, he could tell. His shoulders were sore and he would need much more coffee before patrol tonight.

Hearing that, Mikey stopped in his tracks, bewildered. Okay, this was getting very confusing. Too many déjà-vu’s happening at once. Great, now the headache started … again. No. Not again.  
Frantically shaking his head, he made his way to the stairs.

He stopped when Donnie called after him. “If you’re heading for the bathroom-”

“Leo’s showering, I know” Mikey cut him off, tired and unable to think clearly. “I’ll take a nap” He really needed one right now.

“Well, don’t forget to make lunch later, or Splinter’s gonna give yer more chores.” Raph teased, grinning.

Without turning around, Mikey responded, not reflecting his sudden knowledge. “Nah, don’t have to. We’re getting Pizza anyway.”

He didn’t notice how Raph and Donnie exchanged confused looks.

Yawning, ignoring the ache and warmth that apparently started to take over his whole body with each passing minute, Mikey plopped on his bed, face first. He closed his eyes and soon felt furry paws walking on his carapace, barely registering the purr of his cat as he dozed off. Deep in the backside of his head, a faint voice told him this was a mistake, that he should stay awake. But ignoring and avoiding things was just so much easier, especially with how _dead_ tired he was.

_**Tik ...** _

_Loud sirens._

_**... Tok** _

_Blood._

_**Tik ...** _

_Pain._

_**... Tok** _

_The taste of metal. A sick feeling in his guts._

_Everything was blurry and dark. Multiple voices echoed from the distance, making his head hurt even more. A lout ringing in his mind made it hard to focus or make out what was going on, what they were saying._

_So rushed, everything blurry and fast like a highway._

**_Tik_ ** _..._

_“Mi#ey! Mi-##! You nee# to #### away##!”_

_“#ikey!”_

_“… Mikey!”_

_**Tok.** _

“MIKEY!”

Suddenly, the called Turtle was wide awake in his bed, Klunk rolling off his shell in the process and meowing with protest. His heart was beating so fast, his breath hitched like he had been running for his life. And fuck, he felt so sick, he literally clenched his stomach to stop himself from vomiting. It was so hot … and he was sweating.  
So much for a relaxing nap. He felt more haunted than before and … _wait, what was going on?_

“Get yer shell out of there, Casey n’ April are here!”

Apparently it was Raph’s angelic voice. _Again_ … no, this was the first time he came to wake him today. Or was it?  
Michelangelo forced himself to calm down, rubbing his eyes he made sure Klunk was alright. This was so messed up. What was wrong with him? He secretly hoped Raph would leave it to that and just go away. He usually never waited for him to come out anyways.  
Unfortunately, he wasn’t that lucky. He heard Raph grunting.

With as much willpower he could muster right now, Mikey stood up on his wobbling feet, greeting his brother with a faked yawn to mask his panic … and the tears in the corner of his eyes. “W-what’d I miss?” he sluggishly leaned against his doorframe, Klunk walking past him, caressing his legs before vanishing somewhere in the lair.

His brother eyed him suspiciously. “They got us pizza, lucky you.” Raph told him, quieter than before.

Yay, lucky him. As if.  
Mikey wasn’t as happy about it as he thought he would be, too freaked out for his liking. Additionally to his sickness, his bad gut feeling got only worse. He had a bad intuition for what was about to come next. “Oh … uh … g-great.”

“Great? Since when is pizza _just_ great?” Raph looked almost concerned and even touched his little brother’s forehead to see if he was running a fever. And yes, it was warm, but Mikey hastily shrugged it off, forcing a grin. “How did you even know about that? They said it was meant to be a surprise and didn’t tell any of us.”

“Nobody knows pizza like I do, Raphie.” He joked with a raspy voice, hoping Raph didn’t notice. But he looked not amused in the slightest, almost … concerned even. “Come on, dude. T’was just a joke. Just a lucky coincidence I guess.”  
Still feeling intimidated by the intense big brother stare, Mikey tried to walk past him and cursed his shaking limbs. He hated being like this, feeling all depressed and shitty … _Wait_ … what was … why did he shake so much? This dream, everything, was …

“So I figured, to repay you guys for yesterday, we bought some groceries along and –“ He heard Aprils voice down in the main area and maybe leaned a bit too heavily on the railing. Shit. Fuck! No … this was wrong. So, so **wrong** … oh my god.

Mikey breathed heavily, images flashing before his eyes of blurry figures and he was sure he heard a gunshot, clenching his stomach as the phantom pain made his guts curl and twist. At this rate, he was sure he would have some kind of mental breakdown.  
“T-tell them I’ll be there in a few” He said hastily before stumbling towards the bathroom, leaving a bewildered Raph behind.

Mikey thanked his spare Turtle luck that nobody bothered him. He was about to lose his mind and after making sure he wasn’t about to empty his stomach in the toilet, he washed his face, hands balancing his weight on the sink, looking at his reflection in the mirror. His mask hung loosely around his neck. “What’s wrong with me?”

Though he asked himself that, a part of his subconscious mind sure knew what was happening and dared him to do something, anything, to make it stop, while the rational ( _denying_ ) part in his head yelled at him to stop being a sissy. It was just his stupid sensitive overreaction. Yes, his family always mentioned it. He was … pathetic. On the verge of crying, haunted by a nightmare and flashbacks that couldn’t possibly be flashbacks and all these weird déjà-vu’s … Fuck, he had to pull himself together.  
His gut probably knew something terrible was about to happen but … all he had to do was to avoid it, right? He just … damn, his mind was so hazy. What was he supposed to do? Maybe he just really was going nuts … more than usual. And all of that was his paranoia.  
It was **Friday the 13 th** after all. He didn’t exactly want to believe in all the occult stuff, but he knew this day was known as cursed with bad luck and worse things for some reason. So dreaming about your own death could be just part of it. Maybe just a macabre joke or whatever. Right?

“Okay, breathe. All you have to do is … I dunno, just say you don’t feel well and stay in bed. Yeah. Sleep through this and tomorrow everything’s going to be **_fine_**.” Mikey pep talked himself, smacking his cheeks, like he saw people in anime always doing that, and grinned. It looked obviously fake and tired, but it would do, since it was more convincing that he was sick in a way and could excuse himself from … whatever was going to happen next.

He tied his mask again, inspecting his rather pale face one last time. He pulled the corners of his lips, stretching his smile uncomfortably until it hurt. Good. He was awake, this wasn’t a dream and the headache and pain in his stomach was just part of a cold. Sounded reasonable.

With more, mostly faked, confidence, he left the bathroom. He guessed Raph was with the others, which was only in his favor. He didn’t even expect him to wait for him. Why should he?  
However, instead of the chatter from earlier, he heard the TV on a loud volume, as he arrived at the stairs.

_“Oh my god, the entrance hall just exploded – people are trapped – no sign of the culprits, the police and the paramedics are –“_

Fuck. Michelangelo didn’t even reach the end of the staircase when he felt his heartbeat rising. His family was too engulfed with the news to notice him. Apparently the TV had been on the whole time. He felt the nausea return and watched the scene before him like he wasn’t fully there. Spectator mode.

“I know that place, it’s not far from our shop. Oh god, I hope the people are alright.” April sounded anxious, holding her belly, exhaling loudly.

“Easy babe, they won’t get away with this.” Casey put an arm around her shoulders, rubbing them gently, although he had a sour expression himself, obviously holding back his anger for his wife’s sake.

Leonardo looked at their father, who hummed thoughtfully, stroking his beard. “Maybe we should cancel patrol for today.” He suggested, earning immediate protest from Raphael.

This whole scenario was so abstract, like watching a movie for the second time and Mikey only stared, not trusting his voice right now, so he slowly sank down. His head pounded, everything in his body screamed in agony and he bit the inside of his cheeks so hard, he tasted metal. He wasn’t even able to think clearly, various images and thoughts circling and vanishing over and over.  
But one voice swallowed all the noise, echoing louder in his skull. **_“I’m gonna die. I don’t want to die. This is bad. No. No no nononono”_**

Michelangelo was on autopilot. The discussion soon turned into something that could be described as a meeting to plan a strategy. They offered Casey and April to drive them home. He felt the hard stare of his brother, never lifting his gaze from the ground.  
Raph eventually walked over to him. Strange, normally it was Leo who … No, he was busy and obviously dealt with something himself today. And Donnie was mostly just focusing on April, checking her pulse, as if he wasn’t already overworked.

The red clad Turtle didn’t say anything. He squatted down in front of him, still looking concerned, despite his fight with Leo. Raph’s lips moved. He said something. Shit, he hadn’t paid attention.

“W-what?” He asked quietly. Damn, he still sounded raspy.

“I said ya look like shit. Seriously, Mike, what’s wrong? Yer shaking like a leaf.” Raph stated, soft and less angry than before. Mikey felt guilt building up in his chest. He hated situations like these so much. All just because he was so … pathetic. His decision to hide in his bed only proved that. Coward.

“I’m fine. Just … a lil’ sick.” He lied. “And I didn’t get much sleep … I’ll be okay”

Raph clearly didn’t believe him, but since Mikey was practically whispering, he didn’t want the others to know about it, so he toned down too. Maybe that way his brother would open up more. “Better get Donnie then to check –“

“No!” Mikey shushed him. Fearing the others had heard them or noticed something, he glinted over his brother’s shoulders, sighing in relieve when they were still talking. He gathered all his self-control, refusing to let his stupid fears and silly intuition win. Screw this, he wasn’t going to hide. “Please, it’s embarrassing and he’s been busy enough lately. I … talk to him when we get home again, okay?”

Why did he hate himself so much for his choice right now? It was just a stupid nightmare that messed with his head. None if this was real. It wasn’t! He just needed to convince himself first, then everyone else. No big deal.

Raph worked his mouth. Tense. They weren’t children anymore, he couldn’t say to Mikey he should cut the crap and go back to bed. He wasn’t better. If he wanted to play the tough one and not say anything, fine. It wouldn’t take them long anyways, if they went according to Fearless’ plan. He could just drop a hint to Donnie to give Mikey a check after they brought April and Case home. Maybe he was just too hyped up and impatient because of those fucking terrorists, but he would let it slide for now.

“Fine.” Raphael got up, wondering why Mikey didn’t just asked to stay here. Perhaps he shouldn’t have teased him so much for ditching work and such. He would keep an eye on him.

“April’s condition is stable, the baby is fine.” Was the first thing Donnie said when he joined his brothers, who sat in the living room of the apartment. He rubbed his sore neck and would like to do nothing more than go back home to relax a little.

The whole time Mikey could feel his heart pounding in his head. He regretted his decision. Fighting his instincts that told him over and over again he shouldn’t be here just so he wouldn’t seem lazy, weak or careless even. Was he simply overreacting or not paying enough attention? By now, everyone had noticed something was off with him, he could tell. They just didn’t mention it now because the situation was too altering.

“Great, so now we can finally focus on finding these bastards.” Raph rubbed his hands, eager for action. He ignored Leo’s and Donnie’s glares. What unnerved him more was the way Mikey tensed and anxiously stared out the window, fidgeting with the ends of his mask, curling them around his fingers. Though he took pity on his little brother, he could understand Casey too. Right now his friend helped their neighbor with something while April rested, but he was sure if he wasn’t more worried about his girl and baby, he would go outside looking for the culprit as well.

The argument between Raph and Leo started again, while Mikey remained at the window, spotting the flashlights in the distance, near the construction zone. His heartbeat was unbearable. _Badump, badump, badump_ …

He had to suppress the urge to draw his brothers’ attention towards it, remaining silent. His gut clenched. Calm down. Stay calm … Nothing helped, the panic just wouldn’t subside.

“What’s going on out there?” Leo was suddenly so near, right behind him. He had followed his gaze, also aware of the suspicious lights near the restricted area. It could be the cops, but also … something else. Mikey swallowed.

Soon, the other two joined them. “Are those the terrorists or just thieves that try to scavenge the leftovers?” Donnie asked out loud.

“Whoever they are, we better make them stop, before they blow up another building. Case is already on edge, it’s even worse with his new developed _‘over protective dad’_ mode.” Raph shot Leo a warning look. Even if it was risky, they couldn’t just leave, not knowing if the area was safe or not, even with the cops around.

Leo thought about it, weighing his options. It was still dangerous with terrorists on the run, but with the police they had only limited ways of movement. If things escalated, both sides could possibly attack them. It was definitely difficult … still, it wasn’t right to just back down now.  
“Fine.” He said “But we’ll keep our distance. We move as one, quickly and if I say retreat, we **will** retreat … And Mikey, you’ll stay in the car.”

“Wait, what?” Not having expected to be benched, Mikey looked up. For a moment he thought he only imagined that part, because the pounding in his head was louder than anything else.

“You’re not in the condition to fight properly. You’ve been slacking all day and,” Leo also touched his forehead, proving his point when he exchanged glances with Donnie, who nodded. “you’re sick. You shouldn’t even have come with us.”

Michelangelo didn’t even dare to argue about that. In fact, he was glad. He was so relieved like a huge burden was lifted from his shoulders. Didn’t mean he felt less guilty though. As if he wasn’t taking responsibility for … Yeah, what for even?

It had literally been hours and nothing happened … He sat in the passenger seat, playing on his phone. It was silent and Mikey was slowly feeling better now. Who knew stress had such an impact on him? It was certainly better than he had expec –

_**BANG** _

The loud nose scared Michelangelo so much, he dropped his phone, sitting straight up. “W-was that … a gunshot? … Shit!”

If what he was going through right now was anything close to what veterans felt like when they had Vietnam flashbacks, then this was bad. Very bad. Because the shaking and headache was back to mock him, like he had foolishly believed it was really over.

“Fuck, stop shaking.” He cursed, fishing for his phone under the seat. Every Shell Cell was able to track the others and they even had an emergency call that would send the signal everyone. But there was no such thing. No message from his brothers. He wondered if he should ask about their wellbeing, but it was possible they weren’t able to answer … for various reasons

Mikey should look for them. Investigate. What if something happened to them? He … he … goddammit, why was he so scared?! Screw his worry over his own wellbeing! What if his brothers were in danger? What if they would … No, he didn’t dare even think about it.

The sudden rush of panic and adrenalin made it easier to choose between his options. No matter his mental or physical condition, his brothers would do the same in his place. He had to do something! And he was tired of being … tired … and being so weak. Yeah. If this day was cursed, so be it!

The sea green Turtle sneaked out through the backdoor of the van, activating the tracking app on his phone. The nearest signal came from Raph’s Shell Cell … right at the construction zone. Didn’t they stay in groups? He recalled Leo specifically saying that they wouldn’t separate and meet at the van in a few hours.

_**CRASH** _

The ruckus was coming from the construction zone. He heard more gunshots and police sirens, but they were further away, probably unnoticed by the heat of the battle that was going on over there, so nobody minded what was going on here.

Although Mikey did his best to remain unseen with his condition, he happened to stumble upon a few Purple Dragon members, knocked out and tied together, almost like a wrapped up present to be picked up from the cops … yep, that was totally Raph’s trademark. And seeing them still unconscious, that must’ve happened not too long ago.

He just followed the din. Mikey would recognize his brother’s unholy war cry any day.

A chill went down his spine when he set foot on the muddy ground, surrounded by the steel beams, pipes, cement and other things. His throat was awfully dry when he considered calling out for Raphael. But he figured that might be a stupid idea, if he was in the middle of a fight. Well, he certainly HEARD there was a fight, but he couldn’t SEE anyone … Oh my god, wait, wha-

He avoided the pipes from above just in time, almost getting impaled by them as they fell from the upper floor. Third maybe?

_Badump, Badump, Badump …_

Feeling the aching pounding in both his chest and head again, Mikey made sure he had his weapons ready to defend himself before climbing up the building, his heart sinking further with every meter he climbed up.

Raph fought with a masked man, fully dressed in black. He was obviously wounded, either from the fight with the Purple Dragons before, from that guy or due to the unsafe area they choose to fight.

“Raph!” He called for his brother, surprising the other guy as well, who aimed his gun at Mikey. Like a deer in the headlights, Michelangelo couldn’t move anymore at the sight of the weapon, expecting a hot and a following pain in his stomach. But neither came.

Raph tackled the man down, piercing one of his sais through the palm of his enemy, who let go of the gun in the process, screaming in pain. “Don’t even think about hurtin’ ma brother!”  
They rolled around the floor, Raph’s shell hitting a pile of pipes. They poured down on them. Caught off guard, Raph lost grip on the guy’s wrists.

Despite his hurt hand, the man grabbed a nearby pipe. Flashbacks of Raph attacking him with one of these things a long time ago flashed before Mikey’s eyes and if that wasn’t such a serious and dangerous moment, he would probably laugh bitterly at the irony. However, right now all he could do was running like the devil, banishing the pain and doubts that haunted him and pulling one of his nunchakus.  
Just in time, the chain of ‘Chuck 2: The Sequel’ blocked the blow before it would hit his brother, or worse, his own pretty face.

For a human with an injury, this guy was strong … or Mikey’s poor condition was even more pathetic than he thought.

In the meantime, Raph got to his feet again, having the proper response to show his gratitude. “What the hell ‘r yer doin here, Shell fer brains?!”

“You fucking monsters!” Wow rude. Just when Mikey was about to retort he was only saving his brother’s life, thank you very much, the guy demanded the small amount of focus and effort the orange clad Turtle had left again and lunged out for another strike, but stood no chance against two Mutant Turtles at the same time. That was until …

A crunch. The floor beneath them gave in, all three of them now realized they were standing on a barely safe platform, only supported by planks for the workers to walk on and with them fighting on it, the wood couldn’t support the weight anymore.

It happened so fast.

With a yelp, Mikey desperately tried to hold onto something, only finding small comfort when he managed to grab Raph’s arm.

_Badump, Badump, Badump …_

Unsure how long the fall would be, Mikey closed his eyes, preparing for the impact. It came sooner than he thought. The hard collision with concrete forced the air out of his lungs. Wheezing, coughing, he lost orientation _._

. _Badump, Badump, Badump …_

He heard Raph grunting nearby, which was a good sign. Yet he couldn’t see much, the dust of cement clouding his view like fog.  
He gagged, his stomach hurt like hell. Mikey called out for his brother, nervous. Something moved not far from them.

_Ba#um#, Ba##mp, ##dump …_

A shadow moved in the fog, his blurred vision caught the sight of a sharp object. Mikey wanted to get up, but his leg was stuck under one of these stupid cement bags. If he wouldn’t feel so dizzy, his reflexes so slow, he could think of something. But right now, he only panicked, coughing more when he wanted to call out for Raph, telling him to watch out.  
But the figure headed for him. Fast.

_Badu#pB#dum#Badu## …_

He was going to die. He would die. That man would kill him. He was so close. So fast. Too fast. Why couldn’t he get up? Move! Fight! His nunchucks … gone. Where?  
Crawling backwards, thrashing around, nothing helped. Where did the man suddenly got the broken pipe?

_BADUM#BADUM#A###_

_Finally able to kick the bag off his feet, Mikey crawled backwards. Too late. More panic. Sobs. Tears stung in his eyes. He was acting like a child. A toddler. Pathetic.  
The running footsteps stopped before him. Wicked eyes stared down.  
Mikey lifted his arm, covering his face, ready for the pain. _

_Nothing came.  
No, wait … _

_#####_

_A scream. But not his own._

_###le_

A **s** hadow loo **m** ed right above h **i** m. Shie **l** ding him. His big brother. Raph!  
But h **e** … looked in pain.

Something wet dripped on Mikey’s lips. So close … his breaths sounded raspy, thick. Inspecting the source where the strange fluid came from, he froze.

A sharp end of a pipe stuck out of Raphael’s throat, blood gurgling from it and dripping on his face. Raph’s yellow eyes were gloomy, unfocused. The person that had attacked them used his chance to flee. Leaving Mikey with his brother. His **dying** brother.

**_“NOOOOOOO!”_ **

The heartbreaking scream he uttered was unanswered. Raph couldn’t speak. Although he seemed to try very hard. He lost so much blood so fast. Weak like he had never seen his strong, brave, heroic big brother Mikey had always looked up to, his arms gave out, collapsing on his little brother’s plastron.

He felt the pointy end of the metal scrape his hard heaving chest. Mikey cried, begged, tried with all his might to get Raph off of him, but he was shocked and horrified, his hands couldn’t stop shaking, always losing their grip.  
Raph just laid there, his head on his collarbone. He felt Raph fighting for his life, trying to form words, sounds, breathing rapid and unsteady against his skin. Hot and wet, yet it only caused cold shivers and Mikey felt his burning tears stream down.

Unable to lift his brother, he hold him tight, blabbering, begging and crying.  
“Sorry … so sorry. Raphie! … Please … don’t die … don’t … Donnie’ll fix it … promise! Don’tdiedon’tdiedon’tdie … Raphie … I love you … please don’t! Please!”

Weeping like a little baby, stuttering, holding his brother tight to his chest. With shaking hands, Mikey fished for his phone in his belt. It slipped through his fingers a couple of times, but eventually he managed to press the emergency button. He couldn’t make out the time, the display was smudged with red stains.

Raph’s weight wasn’t the only thing that crushed him. It was also his guilt. His brother’s warm blood coated him, the strong smell of metal forced Mikey to roll to the side, emptying his stomach. A pool of mixed fluids beside him. Tears, blood, vomit …

Raph’s struggling and flexing of muscles became less. If he had said anything to him, he didn’t hear it. He wanted to apologize tom him. For all the pranks, for not showing enough how much he loved and that he always envied him … for being so strong, brave and his loving nature – despite his temper.  
There was nothing he could do. Nothing to save his life. Nothing to soothe the pain. He had only made it worse. His brother was dying because of him! And that … hurt even more.

To watch his big brother die right above him, feel his last shaky breaths and heartbeats. Because of him. All Raph ever did was care for him, protecting him and now … Mikey wished he was in his place. He would prefer to die anytime if he could safe his brother from such a fate.

It was such a painful and slow death … he didn’t deserve that. Raph didn’t deserve it …

“I’m sorry! For all I’ve ever done … It should’ve been me. It’s my fault … Raphie …” Ignoring the gory mess, Mikey cuddled the now … lifeless body of his big brother close to him. Nuzzling his bald head, kissing it softly, searching for any spark of life in the half closed eyes, with the softest expression Mikey had ever seen on him. He hated it.

Where were Donnie and Leo? Nobody came. He was all alone … No, Raph was … He …

“Raph? … R-remember when I came to y-you every time I had a nightmare … a-as a kid? E-even when we were to-o old … a-and you would bitch about it so m-much … Still made room in your ha-hammock for m-e.”  
Mikey was a teary shuddering mess. Not sure what to do, a pained smile formed. He fucking smiled. A hollow laugh. Because he didn’t know what else he could do. He didn’t know. Smiling seemed right. It always did. He wouldn’t know what to do instead. No … he knew. If he stopped … he wouldn’t be able to do it ever again. It would shatter like glass. So he just had to … keep smiling. And eventually it would be real. He would convince himself everything was going to be okay … then everyone else. Right. Heh.  
“It … always bothered you w-when you couldn’t protect u-us. Y-you hated it when I came to you … because o-of nightmares. I was such a c-crybaby. Still am. Heh. Heheh … how w-were you supposed to protect me f-from bad dreams? So that’s why … I stopped c-coming. N-not because I was too old … But because i-it made you also … upset.”

Raph didn’t move … his body heat became less with each minute … except for the blood.  
“Raph?” No answer. Limb. A corpse. “This … is a bad dream right? J-just another … nightmare … r-right? I just … close my eyes and … when I wake up … you’re gonna y-yell at me again … right?”

He did as he said. Repeating his lies over and over in his mind, forcing his eyelids shut, hoping if he were to ever open them again, everything would be alright.  
It would be just a dream. Only a bad dream. A silly nightmare. And Raph would laugh at him, mock him for being such a baby. And they would tease each other like they always did. Mikey would probably hug him … not caring if Raph was embarrassed by it. Everything would be okay. Everyone would be happy.

**. . .**

For how long was he laying here? The weight on his chest seemed … gone. Not existent. The pain was numb. The cold, the ground, the fear … all gone. Swallowed.

The only thing that remained, still present, was this noise. Tik tok, tik tok. Accompanied by a dull music. This time, it wasn’t backwards. It was … A melody. A song.

Very old and very … calming.

_~~“S##le … t#ough y#ur hea#t is ach##g …  
~~ _ _Smile ~~… even t#ough it’s break#ng …~~_

_~~W#en there are ##ouds, in the sky  
you’ll ge# by, if you smile  
through# your fear and sorrow, s###e  
and #aybe tomorrow, ~~ _ ~~~~

_~~you’ll see t#e sun come ##ine throu## …  
~~ _ _for you …”_ ~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forget what I said, this is probably the longest chapter of this story ... I just couldn't stop myself. I'm such a drama queen T_T My poor bean!  
> Well, first I wanted to use Run Rabbit Run by Flanagan and Allen as main song for the fic, since it's all about this Friday, but I think Smile from Jimmy Durante still fits Mikey better, so ... I hope you enjoyed it?  
> I may be a bad person for this, but honestly, I had SO much fun using the old dialogues from the chapter before and maintaining little details. It's like writing an episode for X-Factor, you know? Does that make sense? Probably not xD 
> 
> Have a good day and stay healthy!^^


	4. Insomniac Friday (part I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey refuses to sleep, afraid to lose grip on reality, holding on tight to something ... or someone. In his seek of comfort, he gets more than he thought and maybe, just maybe, a little hope.

With a loud thud, Mikey woke up. Heart racing. Hitched breath, close to hyperventilating. Tears uncontrollably streamed down his face. Almost on reflex, his hands touched his chest, investigating the plastron, feeling for anything … something … _someone_.

But no, he felt nothing. Nothing despite the imaginary weight of a corpse on his own body, blood dripping down all over him, covering him like a blanket. A crimson red, much more haunting than the color of his bandana … Oh god, Raph!

“Meow?”

The questioning sound of Klunk, who curiously observed his owner, frightened Mikey. He had yet to realize where he actually was and what happened or not. How much of that was only a dream? Had it been a dream? No … that couldn’t be. It was so real. Everything was … it was …

A shiver went down his spine, fear taking over when he was consumed by panic, disoriented and shaking, he practically pulled himself upwards on the nightstand. He saw his phone … but nothing else.  
“Holy shit.” He muttered to himself, small hiccups escaping him when he turned the display on. It showed five minutes past midnight … on Friday the 13th.

He dropped the phone, sinking back to the ground on his knees, staring into the darkness. He didn’t notice Klunk’s affectionate purring and how he leaned against his leg. He only felt that he was, in fact, wearing both his mask and belt, with his weapons and …

With trembling fingers, he touched the holster that was meant for his Shell Cell. He felt a sick twist in his guts, throwing the pocket watch to the other side of the room. In his shocked state, he leaned against the frame of his bed, pressing his carapace so hard against it, the wood creaked with protest. It sounded familiar. Like the planks that …

The sickness got worse. Practically jumping to his feet, Mikey stormed out and towards the bathroom. Just in time he bent over the toilet seat, collapsing. The gagging wouldn’t stop. Every time he thought about those … **_images_** … in his head, he just wanted to scream. He was a crying mess. It would be a miracle if nobody had heard him, but he didn’t really care about that now.

Was he about to lose his mind? Had all this been just a bad dream? A horrible nightmare, like he had wished it would be? Would that mean … Oh god, Raph! He was … he would still be alive! Michelangelo had no idea what he would do if he wasn’t. If this was just a joke … another replay …

 ** _What if it had never been a dream?_** What if, for some sick reason, he witnessed this day for real. And that would mean, the other times – he was going through this it for the third time!

Overwhelmed by the flood of **_memories_** , he whimpered. Flushing the toilet, Mikey stood up, leaning against the wall. The room was spinning. He wanted to run over to Raph so bad, check on him … but he was too scared. Afraid he wouldn’t be there. This was crazy, it couldn’t be real. No way. And if it was …

“Fuck, I can’t. No more … please.” He couldn’t stop trembling, he sobbed, inhaling more air than he could exhale. Part of him hoped he would pass out, forget all these terrible incidents. The fact that he probably was stuck in some kind of loop or whatever and the traumatic events. Blood, gore …  
He was suffocating. He couldn’t breathe. Shit, he couldn’t breathe! But he was … Why couldn’t he breathe?!

“Mikey!” Due to his panic attack, Mikey hadn’t realized someone was standing in the doorframe. But he didn’t see or hear quite well. Everything was dull. Like cotton. His vision was turning dark.

Hands kept him steady, caressing his back and gently tucking him down, so he would lean upright against the wall. His eyes shut tight, still hyperventilating, Mikey grabbed his throat. He couldn’t breathe, no air, suffocate … Was he going to die? _Die like Raph, who suffocated, impaled with that thing, he –_

His flexed muscles suddenly relaxed. A certain spot was pressed on his neck and the tension was gone … Forced, but it helped. Mikey’s arms felt so heavy, but calm. There was this funny tingle in them. His hands were gently tugged away.  
Though his vision was still blurry, Mikey saw a faint mix of green and blue. “L-leo?”

His big brother was currently performing acupressure on him, his free hand supported his neck. It had been a while the youngest Turtle had seen their leader with such a soft and worried expression, heard him speak with such a low and soft voice, telling him everything was fine, that he was here. Nothing could harm him. Oh, how desperately he wanted to believe his brother.

The shaking became less and he was finally able to see clearly. Somehow, even more tears managed to pour down his face. But it was unknown if that was because of sorrow, happiness or fear … he just wanted to cry. The only thing that made him feel safe, kept him from falling apart, was Leo. He was here. He was real!  
Not caring about anything else, Mikey threw his arms around Leo, hugging him close. He just wanted to feel his heartbeat, his warmth, a sign of life and reality.

“I’m losing my mind.” He whimpered, hiding his face in Leo’s collarbone. He felt the soothing circles on his back. “There was so much blood … It should’ve been me!”

Leonardo said nothing, his body tensed and he pressed his little brother tighter to him. He didn’t know what he was talking about, but he was smart. He put the pieces together, eventually understanding and rocked him back and forth, shushing and repeating _“It’s fine, it’s okay. It was only a nightmare, Mikey”_ like a mother would do to her child. Well, he was the famous helicopter mom after all. And although he mostly deemed that as embarrassing and would claim it was only his duty as leader and oldest brother, he somehow was okay with that too. They never had a mother, so his worry was probably what came closest to that. And right now, one of them needed exactly that.

It took a while, but Mikey calmed down, drying his tears. His voice was hoarse, head pounding from the exhausting sobs. “T-thank you ... Big brother.” He was still hugging him for good measure, afraid he would shatter if he let go. “D-did I wake you up?”

Leo checked him all over, noticing the fever and how pale he was. He had also noticed the bitter smell. Either from his nightmare or his cold, Mikey had vomited. He needed water to hydrate. “No. Honestly, I didn’t sleep either. I was meditating and when I came here, I saw you having a panic attack … Do you feel better now?”

Leonardo wouldn’t let anyone see his deep circles behind his mask or how tired he felt. He hadn’t slept the night before either, restlessly pacing in his room and meditating for inner peace, only ending up going down the lair, stalking to the rooms of his father and brothers, making sure everything was alright. Then he would eventually go to the kitchen, make himself a tea and a sandwich … he was actually heading for the bathroom when he saw the light and heard the noise. Stumbling upon his little brother, seeing him in that state and hearing these terrible things … if he could, Leo would gladly take all these negative clouds out of his usual upbeat and smiling brother. He always wanted to take the burden, so nobody had to suffer … that was his duty. As the oldest. As the leader. As the … next head of the Hamato Clan.  
The older Turtle shook his head. This revelation still unnerved him and made him so restless and uneasy. He thought about it nonstop, but his brother was more important now.

“It’s … better. Thank you.” Afraid to ruin anything or lose grip to reality, Mikey focused on Leonardo’s eyes. They always knew a solution. They never lied to him. They never _left_ him. Leo was always there when he needed him most. Even when he was at his worst, like the Battle Nexus re-match. It was always his big brother that helped him, no matter how much he screwed up. So maybe … it was possible he would help him this time too, right? “Can you please s-stay with me?”

Leonardo gently caressed his head and nodded. Of course he would stay. “Let’s get you some water. Do you need help?”  
It was embarrassing, but Mikey indeed needed help from him, his legs felt so numb and ticklish. He leaned heavily on Leo’s shoulder when they made their way down to the kitchen.

Mikey was nestled between cushions and blankets on the sofa, downing the glass like he hadn’t drank anything in days. It certainly felt like it, but he had to slow down if he wanted it to stay in his stomach.  
Leonardo had made tea to calm both of them down. He knew his baby brother wasn’t much of a tea enjoying person, but when sick or upset, he would also drink it. He watched every move. The still heavy heaving of Mikey’s shoulders, the watery eyes, the pale face, the way he held the glass tight with both hands that tried so hard to keep it steady.  
“Do you want to talk about it?” The way he flinched, Leo guessed he wasn’t ready to be reminded of his terrors again, so Leo decided to keep him company and talk about nonsense. Just anything to keep his brother calm. “You know, uhm … I’m in charge of today’s lesson. So I’m trying to make it more interesting and modern, that even you would get into the spirit. I thought that would be refreshing.”  
He smiled a little. It was a good sign. “Of course I have to delay that, you’re not going to train today.”

“You don’t have to do that. I … I’m not ditching work again.”

“You’re not ditching anything, Mikey. You have fever, I wouldn’t have let you train anyway.” There was this stern and finite voice. His decision was absolute. No point in wasting more energy to argue about that. Mikey was maybe a tiny bit relieved to hear that.

Said Turtle averted his gaze, biting his lip. He was definitely holding back something else. But Leo wouldn’t push the topic and cause another breakdown. But Mikey did something else he had predicted. He avoided talking about his problems and questioned him instead. “Why couldn’t you sleep? Did you also have a … **_nightmare_**?”

Calling the last events such a silly word, left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had to suppress a laugh. No, that would make him look crazy. As if he wasn’t pathetic enough already.

“I’m having a lot on my mind lately and it’s hard to focus on something else than that if it’s so _present_ all the time.” It was really hard for Leo to talk about his feelings so openly, but the way Mikey was intrigued so fast, he just had to continue. Maybe if he opened up, his brother would as well. “A few days ago I had my usual extra lesson with Splinter and he … mentioned that he’s glad I’m taking my training and my role in the family so serious. He said it was relieving him to know he could leave the not just the training, but also the role as Sensei to me.”

“That means your education is finished and he has nothing to teach you anymore. Isn’t that a good thing?” Michelangelo saw the slight flinch in his posture.

“It is. It means he trusts me. And I know what I am capable of! Really, I’m past the point of doubting my skill, but still … The way he said it, even if he told me that he would use that opportunity to focus more on his role as a father – and grandfather – when I’m in charge as head of the clan. It sounds like he’s implementing more than just his retirement and I don’t know if I can live up to it. Being the leader of a team and the responsibility is one thing, but I always knew I could ask him for advice.” Leo noticed that he was rambling and cut himself off before he would drag his brother with his thoughts down. With his fear of the day he would truly have to be the leader, sensei, big brother … without a father or master around to ask. He feared the day father wouldn’t be here anymore. It was ridiculous, the lifespan of mutants surpassed the average human ones, even if it variated between turtles and rats … still, he felt like a lost child just imagining how it would be if their sensei wasn’t here with them anymore. Wasn’t there to keep the family together … And if Leo would be able to do it in his place.

“Just because he retires, doesn’t mean you can’t ask him for advice anymore.” Mikey took a small sip from his own cup, the hot fluid was still too much, but the warm feeling in his hands soothed him. He understood his brother. He really did. “I don’t want to think about what would be if h-he … if any of you guys wouldn’t be here a-anymore … because it can happen any day, a-any moment.” He had to blink some tears away, fighting hard to keep himself together. “But that means you s-should make use of the time he’s still around. You’re incredible … and we don’t need a second Splinter. We need you, our big brother … I don’t really get the whole tradition and being head of a clan thing and how that is different from a team leader, but we’re also a family … And I couldn’t imagine a cooler sensei than you. As long as you don’t start to hit me with a cane that is, heh.”

Leo had to smile a little at that. “Wise words. Hm, I guess I’ll probably ask you for advice in the future then.”

“Well, if one of us goes down, we all go down, right?” Mikey returned the grin. However, deep down, he felt like a hypocrite. If he couldn’t tell Leo the truth, he couldn’t tell it anyone. “I … still don’t know if it was real or just a dream. It was so real. Maybe I’m just going insane but … One moment I’m having the worst day of my life, falling to my death in the end, only to wake up again, experiencing the same day all over again and then … it was Raph who … he got impaled with … that pipe … above me a-and … So much blood. God, I wish it wasn’t real and that he’s alright. I-I can still feel it. And all these memories, I …”

Mikey couldn’t keep it in anymore, tears rolling down his cheeks. Raph’s limb body, the pain in his stomach, the flashbacks of repeated dialogues only slightly different. A part of him still wanted to run upstairs and storm into his hotheaded brother’s room. He just couldn’t trust his legs to support him all the way.  
Leo’s eyes widened. He wasn’t able to comprehend all of that at once, but he wouldn’t dare question Mikey’s mentality, so he wanted for him to elaborate as much as he could without panicking again. “What do you mean you … experienced the same day all over?”

An idea hit Mikey. Despite his traumatic memories that still haunted him, he recalled several comics and movies where something as a time loop also occurred and the protagonist somehow had to convince his allies to believe him. “I … t-the special training you prepared was some k-kind of _“the floor is lava”_ we had to fight without touching the floor and after ten minutes you would interfere. I lost and had to clean the dojo and the weapons. A-and April and Casey surprised us with pizza and groceries and then … The news … an explosion …”

He couldn’t finish. He had to put a hand on his mouth, suppressing the gag reflex. The tears wouldn’t stop flowing, he was shaking again. It was so hard. Leo must’ve thought he was crazy. Heck, even he thought he was crazy! This whole scenario was just so bizarre and he neither wanted to admit all of that was happening nor that he dreamed all that. It was like betrayal. How fucked up was that?!

In an instant, Leo was at his side again, caressing his shoulders. Mikey couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore. He wasn’t ready for the look of disbelieve. But he listened.  
“Wouldn’t that also mean that, if nothing of what you said will happen today, perhaps it wasn’t real?” Mikey could be wrong, but his big brother sounded almost like he wanted to convince himself too. Pff, sure. As if he’d have to do that.

“That’s the problem! What if it **does** happen? You and Raph will argue about if you should go on patrol only for us to end up driving April and Casey home and then at the construction zone … I … Raph …”

Leo was quiet for a moment, thinking hard what he should say to him. He couldn’t bear that shattered mess that was supposed to be his joyful brother. “Look, no one’s going to die. Not you and neither Raph. I won’t let that happen. Never.” He gently forced Mikey to look up, lifting his chin. “I promise you, we won’t go anywhere and you will rest. I’ll tell Donnie to give you something for the fever and sickness and you don’t have to worry about it. Alright?”

Despite his stupid doubts he couldn’t shake off, Mikey nodded. He was too overwhelmed to wonder what Leo might think about all this or if he truly believed him. But the prankster was far from being tired. No, he wouldn’t sleep. Not with these … images in mind.

Leo kept his word. He practically had to drag Mikey upstairs to his room, almost tripping over Klunk, who lurked in the dark, eagerly waiting for his favorite pillow to return. Mikey refused to load more pressure and negativity on his brother’s shoulders, so when Leo had sat down next to him, assured him everything was going to be okay and he would take care of everything, he resisted to call out for him to stay. He was no kid anymore. And … and … god, he couldn’t even bear the darkness of his room. He turned the lamp on his nightstand on, hid under his blanket, hugging himself, eyes burning but never closing for more than a few seconds.

He didn’t sleep. He did practically everything but that, playing on his phone and even humming to himself while listening to some Disney songs, until his alarm went off at 7 in the morning. Right, he was supposed to make breakfast.  
Getting up was so hard and he just ended up sighing and turning around. Great. Of course NOW he was deadly tired. But no, he wouldn’t sleep. He wanted to know for real if this was … well, **_real_**. He would pay attention to everything, not missing a single detail that was going on. Maybe he should write it down? Or he could search through his sci-fi comics and research in the internet? Because if this was indeed some kind of loop then … there had to be a way to stop it! And eventually with time he would forget all of this ever happened. Yeah, that was a good plan. Just … a few … more minutes … to spare.

His eyes only closed for a minute or so. He heard heavy footsteps passing his room. That wasn’t unusual. What really stood out was the heavy coughing and the person that did it. Oh god, that was –

“Raph!” He yelled, shoving the sickness aside, he literally jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room. It was him! It had to be him! And he was alive! “RAPHIE!”

Just seeing the shape of the scarred carapace and the red tails of his mask made Mikey keel over with joy. His brother barely had time to turn around before he was tackled, hugged tight. They fell to the ground, Mikey above him, pressing his head on Raph’s plastron to listen for the heartbeat and soaking in the warmth of a living body with rushing blood that stayed were it belonged – inside.

“What the – shell Mikey?!” His voice was sore and raspy beyond recognition, he sounded worse than Batman with a cold and coughed like he smoked a whole pack of cigarettes. But to Mikey, that didn’t matter at the moment. It surprised him, yes, but most importantly, he was ALIVE!

“I’m so sorry!” He yelped, didn’t care about the arms that grabbed his shoulders to move him away. “I’m so, so sorry. For all the pranks lately and every mean thing I ever said to you!”

Raph gave up his efforts, just wordlessly watching his brother weep on his chest, clinging to him for dear life. When he looked up, Raph’s skeptical expression turned to a mix of worry and confusion. He had woken up in such a bad mood and was still angry at him, but for some reason, he just wanted to hug Mikey back and tell him everything was okay. He had never seen his brother this desperate before.  
He didn’t trust his voice to ask where that came from all of a sudden. Raph gently pushed him back, so he could sit up and get a better look at his brother.  
“I’m so sorry … And I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate and love you and that I’m s-so glad you’re here and bear with me and m-my pranks and –“

“Okay, okay whoa, slow down!” He croaked, stopping the rambling with his hand while he fought the urge to get into another coughing fit.

Clueless what he was supposed to do or say, Raph looked anywhere but at Mikey to think of something. He never expected to ever, of all people, silently beg Leo for help, when he arrived. His shoulders hung when he sighed and he tugged at Mikey’s arm to get his attention.

“Yeah, he’s alright. It’s okay.” Leonardo smiled, which seemed to have an effect on Mikey. He returned it, beaming with so much relieve, it was heartbreaking for the leader because he knew the reason behind it. Yes, Raphael was okay. And he’d make sure it stayed that way and tomorrow he would try to talk with Splinter about it. Nightmare or not, it had obviously left a deep scar on Mikey’s psyche. “I just informed Don, he said you should try to eat something light and come to his lab afterwards.”

Mikey nodded with newfound enthusiasm and stood up. The sickness was still present, but at least he could walk straight again. He didn’t run the stairs down like he usually would … or slide on the railing, but he was going to be okay. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, he had **_hope_**.

“Uh, what?” Raph ignored the helping hand that was stretched out for him and got up, rubbing his sore throat.

“I’ll explain it later. He’s …” Leo didn’t want to tell him everything. Not without Mikey’s consent. “Running a fever and had a pretty bad nightmare that involved you … dying.”  
He couldn’t give more details than that, but he saw understanding in Raph’s eyes and also a hint of guilt flashing in them. He didn’t comment the coughing, however.

“How strange.” Donatello murmured, after taking Mikey’s temperature and checking his pulse and plastron with a stethoscope. “You have high temperature, but you don’t have an upset stomach or flu, it’s like … a badly healed wound, just without … the wound?”

“What does that mean?” Mikey asked, already knowing the possible truth.

“It’s like an invisible scar under the plastron, the muscle tissue is twisted and cramped as if you’ve been pierced or hit with something underneath.” Mikey’s genius brother was in total denial, running a few more tests with various kinds of ultrasonic and inventions that he had originally used to check on April’s baby … which was kind of unnecessary, because she had a real Gynecologist but he was playing the part of the midwife or something.

Having a confirmation about his theory wasn’t easing his mood in the slightest. Quite the opposite actually.  
Mikey simply hummed, noticing how his blood pressure on the screen was rising with the panic inflicting memories he went through. The image of a gun and the ache in his guts as he felt a bullet pierce itself through his plastron. The pain was fresh, as if the bullet was still stuck inside his stomach and he couldn’t get it out. But Donnie would’ve noticed that.

That wasn’t the only thing he observed, apparently. “You don’t seem surprised. Mikey, what happened?” Like the ever curious and insightful brother he was, Donnie put a hand on his shoulder and had this deeply concerned look he got a lot from his brothers today. Mikey couldn’t stand these demanding eyes staring at him anymore. He hated this. And he didn’t want to drag his whole family down with him. This was his problem. Because somehow for some reason he had managed to trap himself in a horrible loop and now he had to figure out how to get out of it again. Alone. What happened to Raph was … that never should happen again. He would prevent it at all cost.

“I … I kind of told Leo already and … I’m sorry, I can’t.” He felt bad not telling his brother the truth, but honestly, that would upset Donnie even more. Mikey simply wanted to crawl back under his blanket and maybe magically wake up from this inception dream escapade … Which it sadly wasn’t, knowing his luck and it being Friday the 13th and all.

Donatello wasn’t about to let the topic slide just like that and wanted to keep pressing the issue, but Mikey didn’t give him a chance. “I’ll just go back to my room and … take a nap or something.”  
He stood up a little too fast, throwing a few sheets off the examining table he had sat on. He heard his brother moving, trying to grab him, not even caring about his stuff on the ground, but like the athletic ninja he was, he swiftly shoved the door between them, giving his genius brother a last apologetic smile before he rushed to his room.

He was relieved nobody followed him or came to his room. Whatever Leo was doing, it worked. Yeah, leaving the hard to handle things to his oldest brother was always the best solution. After all, Leo was responsible and mature enough so Mikey could take it easy and Donnie was allowed to dream, as he remembered saying that once. A bitter, sour taste in his mouth and guilt told him, it was stupid. He couldn’t just leave the responsibility to the one person in the family that always had his back no matter what or how crazy and unworthy he was sometimes.

The least he could do was to find a way to solve his problem.

Breakfast was hours ago and both training and chores should be over by now. Mikey had tried to remember as many details as he could – without dwelling too much on the dark events that took place. He vaguely wrote down times and events, even had his Shell Cell lying next to him to check the news when _“it”_ would happen.

On another sheet of paper, he had written things down that he could remember were possible ways to start a loop, minding his knowledge of comics and sci-fi movies … and also his little fondness of occult things and horror. To be frank, that was precisely it and he hated that. Curses usually only affected an individual itself and never space and time as a whole, revolving around one topic, like a person, object or place. That was more of a scientific thing. The only way something like that happened with magic involved was if the persons mind was trapped or somehow locked up. One could live through his own personal hell while being asleep, like in Nightmare on Elm Street. But to last this long he had to be in some kind of coma.

Another one was to be sealed, trapped in a demonic dimension between the world of death and living or some shit. That would mean either just his mind or also his body were under the influence of an evil spirit or entity. But that was stupid, how would that even work? It was crazy! Everything of it felt real. His brothers, his family, his friends were all real! He could feel it! Besides, he’d have to come in touch with an enchanted or cursed object recently for anything like that to hap – wait.

Mikey looked at the box he had received from April “ _yesterday”_ that was filled with horror and occult comics and books. And he remembered that he woke up both times with that stupid pocket watch, even if he definitely knew he had tossed it on the nightstand or, well, in the box this time.

The wheels in his brain started to work, putting the events together. What exactly happened the first time? Something had to start this loop in the first place. But what? And how could he fix it?  
It was so hard to think. Even if a spark of panic still lingered in his heart, the lack of sleep was showing. He didn’t dare to close his eyes for too long, unable to control the mental images that stalked in his mind to mock him whenever he felt a just a little safe and content in the darkness.

Yawning, Mikey heard noises outside. April and Casey must’ve arrived. Hopefully they didn’t turn the TV on. He had seen Raph for a brief moment before walking into Don’s lab and he had looked terrible. His throat must bother him really much. Mikey wondered if Leo had called the training off for today and talked to Splinter about it.

His thoughts trailed off whenever he tried to focus too long on his research and various other questions he had, getting more tired from the exhaustion. His jaw hurt from the exaggerated yawning he couldn’t hold back. Tears blurred his vision … he didn’t even know he still had some left to spare. Crying like a little baby all day … He truly was pathetic. Meanwhile Leo probably handled everything just so he wouldn’t have to face them, telling everything all over again. With how different this Friday was going, Mikey even doubted Leo would still believe him. He couldn’t believe it either … still, it was depressing how alone and helpless he felt, being only meters away from the rest of his dear family that was worried about him.

Mikey felt bad, dragging them down with him. They shouldn’t worry about it. It was his own responsibility. If only he wasn’t so pathetic.

“You were right.”

Mikey nearly jumped out of his shell. Everything he had in his now trembling hands fell on the floor as he noticed Leo standing in his doorframe, completely silent and unnoticed like the stealthy leader he was. He was so awesome.

“Right about what?” He whispered, afraid of his own voice.

“About the explosion. We saw it on TV a few minutes ago.” With a smooth movement, Leo sat down in front of Mikey with crossed legs. He looked both serious and deeply saddened. Maybe because if that was true, the other things Mikey had told him could technically also have happened … Right, the thing with Raph … and Donnie might have talked to Leo. He knew his brothers his whole life, even simple minded Michelangelo could put two and two together.

“And are you going to drive Casey and April home?” Unable to keep eye contact, Mikey found it more interesting to fumble with his mask, staring at the comics and papers between them.

“I tried to persuade them to stay here, but Casey said he would take care of it and April was worried about their neighbors. Raph is … pretty furious I decided to stay home tonight.” Leo sighed, also taking in the notes his brother had hastily written down.

“So you called off patrol entirely?” A glimmer of hope caused Mikey to look up. He internally jumped out of pure joy. But he still wouldn’t be truly happy until he saw the date of October the 14th on his phone display. “How much … did you tell them?”

“I told Master Splinter that I thought it would be safer for us if we lay low for now. With the police and the scared citizens it would be too dangerous.” Leo tried to give him an encouraging smile. “I didn’t tell them about your … about what happened to you, if you were wondering about that. Donnie and Raph asked me but … I didn’t know what to tell him, honestly.”

Mikey understood. After all, he experienced it first hand and had no idea how to fill Leo in on the story … let alone even have the heart to give him more details than necessary so he wouldn’t have to comprehend the suffering and pain Mikey had went through.  
But little did he know how much it bothered Leonardo … well, he found out pretty soon.

In a heartbeat, not bothering the papers and comics between them, Leo leaned forward and pulled Mikey to his chest in a tight hug. He actually believed him. And now, Mikey kinda wished he didn’t … because the impossible was happening. Leo silently cried, nuzzling him so close to the crook of his neck, Mikey heard the ragged breathing, felt the hot tears on his cheeks. If he could, he’d cry too, just from that alone. But he felt like he had shed all his tears for today. All that remained was the burn in his eyes and the tiredness.

“I’m so sorry.” It was pointless, but Leo said it anyway. And Mikey knew. He knew that if there had been a way to switch with his brother, to spare him from the pain and these horrible events, he would’ve done it. Because that’s exactly what any brother had done in the others place. The sad, depressing truth … and Mikey felt even more pathetic, since a part of him wished he could do just that. Switch with one of his brothers. And now he felt worse than before, like a hypocrite.

Leo stayed in his room, slowly regaining self-control. He kept staring at Mikey, like he wanted to make sure nothing happened to him, aware of every tiny movement. It made Mikey nervous, yet he was also relieved to not be alone. Although he glanced at the clock frequently, the tension got less.

Mikey told him, how he had no idea what could’ve caused this horrible loop. He told him about all the theories and eventually, he showed him the pocket watch.  
“I have no idea why, but I’m getting a bad feeling just touching it.” Leo said, running his thumb over the glass with the tiny scratch on it.

“Same, dude! That’s why I think it’s because of this thing. I just can’t really remember what I could’ve done to … dunno, activate it? And how do I stop it? I don’t want to accidently mess things up even more.” Mikey gently took the watch back, afraid it would mess up his brother too, as childish as it seemed.

“I can’t really tell if its aura is of mystical nature or something else. But it definitely radiates a strong energy. Maybe we should ask Master Spli-“ He didn’t finish, sensing the presence of another person, fast approaching.

“Guys?!” Donnie looked worried, his expression soon turning slightly relieved, finding two of his siblings. He sighed. “Thank god, you’re still here.”

Immediately, Leo stood up, picking up on the implied meaning of his words. Still, he asked anyway to confirm his intuition. “What do you mean with that?”

“Well, I wanted to check on Raph too, since he had a really bad cough all day but he refused to let me have a look on it and now … he’s gone. I haven’t tracked his signal yet.”

If Leo had been an emotional wreck before, there certainly was no trace of that left, his face darkened and he held back a curse. “Then do it. If he’s really out there, looking for these terrorists himself, I’ll go find him.”

“Wait, you can’t go alone!” Despite his tired and sore legs, Mikey followed his oldest brother who already began to march forward.

“It’s safer that way. There’s less chance to get caught if I’m alone. You’re staying here.” Leo’s intention behind his words were clear, he didn’t want to risk Mikey’s safety and whatever nemesis lurked outside, he would face them instead and make sure Raph got home in one piece no matter the cost. To Donnie it might’ve looked very odd and overprotective – even for his standards, but neither was aware of it at that moment.

“But-“ Mikey, feeling slightly dizzy again, couldn’t stop his brother. He was so determined, there was no way he could talk sense into him. He always had that habit, seeing everything through a tunnel, a specific goal he aimed for, while forgetting everything else in return.  
It was useless, Leo was gone as swift and stealthy as he had entered, leaving the lair just like that. Now it was just him and Donnie who remained in the main area of the lair, each clinging to their own thoughts while wondering who should tell Splinter about the turn of events … but honestly, he probably knew already about it. At least that’s what Mikey assumed. He always knew everything while still giving his sons the chance to settle their problems themselves before offering his help … well, most of the time. Right now the youngest just wished he was a little Turtle tot again, cuddling up on his father’s lap who would read worn old comics to him and sing him a lullaby so he would sleep. Everything was so much easier and less problematic back then.

“Mind if you finally fill me in on what I’ve obviously been missing out?” Donnie was too close, his ever analyzing stare roaming up and down Mikey’s body. He not only felt exposed, but for some reason every little complaint he had was making itself known even more. His stomach pain, the dizziness, his tired and burning eyes, the sudden urge to hide under his bed and never come out again …

Like always, Mikey tried literally everything else to simply avoid the topic, glancing at his phone that showed the signal of both Leo and Raph, blinking dots pinging … And that one glance was enough to know where Raph was heading to. “Do you think we should call Casey or … follow them with the van?”  
Although he was sure he’d have another breakdown if they really followed them, he couldn’t think of anything else to distract from himself and the explanation he owed his brother … Donnie was his best friend, he usually always told him everything. But considering how Leo had reacted to it, watching his brother who always believed in logic and liked to depend on the safety of his calculations, something like a time loop and the terrific consequences … No, Mikey just didn’t have the heart to tell him. And Donnie couldn’t make him. No, he was going to stay stubborn at this.

“Michelangelo, I’m serious. I want answers!” Donnie rarely raised his voice or looked angry at him … well, aside from the pranks and intrusions during his experiments, but he was officially done with the merry-go-round that was going on.

“And I’m serious too! We …” Desperately, he tried to come up with the right words. “We’re a team, right? And still, Raph and Leo always do their solo missions. But this time it’s … trust me, it will end badly. They could die!” Images of Raphael with an impaled throat above him, blood gurgling from his wound and mouth down on him like tiny rivers plopped into his mind and he couldn’t help the panic. He hadn’t even realized he had grabbed his brother’s shoulders, shaking him as if Donnie was the one losing his mind and not him. “Why … why can’t we all just stay home and … and pretend this isn’t happening? Is that too much to ask?!”

Donatello was a genius, yet he had no answer. In fact, he looked more worried than before. Mikey was so sick of it. Maybe the lack of sleep made him so cranky and angry. He didn’t care.  
Donnie watched him, gently pulled the hands off his shoulders and pressed one of the wrists with his thumb, feeling the high blood pressure. As if the dark circles beneath the mask wouldn’t already give away the sleep deprivation. Or his temperature the fever. But the shaking and how unfocused and clouded his only younger brother’s eyes were, the caring doctor inside shushed the ever curious and unsatisfied scientist in him.

“Alright, if it makes you happy, we can pick them up with the van. But you’re going to tell me **everything** , you won’t do anything stupid and no more avoiding!”

Mikey nodded hastily, moments later Donnie pulled him along to the elevator. He wondered if they should inform Splinter but … again, focusing was hard and if it wasn’t for Donnie, who provided a great support to lean on, he wouldn’t even be able to walk straight. Heh, he was so pathetic. And stupid nonetheless. After all, he was about to face his nightmare again, not learning from his mistakes. And on top of that, he forgot the pocket watch in his room. It was definitely this thing that started all this and of all people, if it was a scientific device, Donnie could help him figure it out but … his gut feeling told him it was already too late for that. Still, he had this faint spark of hope left.

When they pulled sideways, things were already hectic. At first they chatted a little. Mikey briefly told him about the loop, his so called nightmare and that even if it sounded crazy, he knew what was happening and … He cut off at Donnie’s impending questions and the deep frown he wore. Of course his smart brother wasn’t satisfied with just a simple summary, so Mikey gave up.

“There’s police everywhere. Something is going on.” Parking near April’s apartment, Donnie took out his phone to look at the two dots, who were almost touching by now, somewhere between that blown up company and the construction zone next to it.

Even with all the ruckus going on and the urgency of their mission, they hesitated. Both knew it was dangerous. Humans everywhere, Leo who had told them to stay in the lair, not telling Splinter, April or Casey anything about it and Raph … what had gotten into him? Mikey felt guilty. Perhaps he shouldn’t have avoided everyone and talk to them. After all, if Donnie and Raph had known why he didn’t want anyone to leave. If Leo believed him, the fearless, serious and mature leader, then they could’ve convinced the others too, right? Well, like people always said: You’re always smarter once it’s over. If only he could undo or repeat … No. Fuck no.

The lack of sleep was taking its toll on Michelangelo, yet he refused to give in and shook his head. “Well, here goes nothing.”  
“Mikey, wait!” The sudden movement next to him caused Donnie to snap out of his spiraling thoughts, immediately following his brother. He was able to grab his wrist just in time to pull him in an alley, as a police car drove by. He hoped they wouldn’t find the van suspicious and investigate. Maybe he should call Leo after all? Or Casey, maybe Raph told him something?

“D, we don’t have time, we need-!” Mikey’s complaint was interrupted by a loud gunshot and multiple others that followed shortly after.

His first urge was to run for it, afraid Leo or Raph got hurt. The next was to get away from here as fast as possible. But regardless, he was frozen in place, haunted by past events and memories once again. Pain, blood, nauseous … Mikey wanted to cry. But his tired, burning eyes were too exhausted … even if he had still tears left.

**“LEO!”**

Mikey perked up, wide eyed. He and Donnie would recognize the enraged voice of their hothead brother any day, even as sore as it was today. And the orange clad Turtle also knew exactly where it came from. He didn’t have to look at the GPS for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the chapter nearly took forever because I couldn't find the right spot to end it and became so long, I'm splitting it in two now. Meh, I originally planned for this fic to only have 13 chapters xD I don't know if I can still acomplish that if I keep surpassing my limits ... well, better too much than less, I guess? 
> 
> I really love the relationship between Leo and Mikey. Although the story is centered around Mikey, I like to implement as much as possible from the others point of view during the 24 hours of this friday.


End file.
